Strength #1 – Creativity

For the full list: to get a pdf of new ways of using all 24 strengths please email me at kaye.mclaren@gmail.com or drop a request with your email address in the comments section.

Using strengths in new ways improves mood for three to six months, compared to a week or two for using strengths in ways you have before. This means more happiness and less depression for longer. So it’s worth doing.

You want to do something new for a week to get the full impact. So either choose one thing you can do every day for a week, or choose a variety of new things that allow you to do something new every day for a week. For example, you might do one thing for three days, and four things for one day each.

If you think of a new idea that could fit on one of these lists, please let me know in the comments.

1. Wisdom and Knowledge

1. Creativity [originality, ingenuity]: creativity is often thought of as being artistic and creating art works or scientific and coming up with new technology. But the reality of creativity is far more intangible. It is in fact the process of coming up with new ideas. It may result in something tangible – like a script, appliance, portrait or project plan – but it starts as an invisible process in the brain. Creativity can also result in less tangible products like a new theory or a solution to a problem. It is a strength that can be used to deal with setbacks, adversities and obstacles in life. The products of creativity are not only original, but can be useful. They can help that person or other people, or bring something positive into their lives, as art does. Studies show that creativity can result in better problem solving, more self-confidence, self-knowledge, hope and well-being, along with less depression and anxiety.

1. Think of one of your problems and come up with as many possible solutions as you can, no matter how crazy they seem.
2. Brainstorm ideas for a script, whether for a play, comedy skit, short video, TV pilot or film. It may help to look at true crime stories, especially unsolved ones where you can ask yourself ‘what happened?’ Or read about stories of courage, resilience or social change. Or stories of weird occurrences. Ask about interesting characters from your family and choose one to research.
3. If you come up with one, look at books and online articles on script writing, re-watch your fave films and watch videos on script writing, then have a go at writing it, even if only an outline.
4. Draw a picture with paints, felt pens, gel pens, colored pencils.
5. If you feel suicidal, or are recovering from a suicide attempt, create a Suicide Prevention/Safety Plan of things you can do and people you can do to stay safe. Having a safety plan almost halved the risk of suicidal behavior according to an analysis of multiple studies.ⁱ
6. Think about an idea for a new board game or video game. Sketch it out on a big board or story board, then start cutting up paper and finding or making art to put on it.
7. Look up a writing prompt and write a few paragraphs based on it.
8. Try writing an assignment, essay or email in a different style from your normal writing style.
9. Make a pot from clay or papier mache.
10. Make earrings, a brooch or insect out of modelling clay.
11. Play Charades or Pictionary with friends.
12. Sew, knit, embroider or crochet something.
13. Make a simple screen and learn how to screen print.
14. Ask friends and family if they have a challenge in their life right now that they’re feeling stuck with and would like ideas about. Sit quietly and come up with as many potential solutions as you can.
15. Look at a common tool or gadget and see if you can redesign it to be better. Maybe ask online what tool or gadget people are dissatisfied with or wish someone would develop.
16. Make a sculpture out of everyday objects like teartabs, bamboo skewers, vegetables or a plastic bottle. You could get ideas from the YouTube video called From Trash to Treasure: Turning Everyday Objects into Art on the Ariane Zurcher – On the Other Hand channel.
17. Design an online course on a topic that interests you using Powerpoint or Canva.
18. Design a board or video game.
19. Think about a common challenge people you know are facing, such as online scams, losing weight, finding a job or partner. Research and brainstorm ways to deal with them, then write a list of practical tips.
20. Write a haiku about something you’re passionate about.
21. Look for ways to make routine activities and chores more fun by turning them into games. For example, turn grocery shopping into a treasure hunt by giving family or roommates lists of things to find and seeing how quickly they can finish their list. You could get ideas from the book Simple Fun for Busy People: 333 Ways to Enjoy Your Loved Ones More in the Time You Have by Gary Crane.
22. Go along to a meeting of a local amateur drama group and offer to help with set design, props or costumes.
23. Look at a practical problem in your home and brainstorm ingenious ways to solve it.
24. Look at simple and cheap decor ideas online and in books and magazines. Choose a theme, then change one room around so it looks fresh – move furniture, buy stuff at thrift stores, paint or decorate walls, furniture or ornaments. Rearrange furniture to open up more floor space, make new curtains and cushion covers. If you don’t feel inspired, try the simple decor theme of white walls with colorful cushions, rugs, throws, prints/pictures/posters, ornaments, vases, light shades and plastic flowers.
25. Make a moss garden or sand saucer – a dish filled with moss or sand and decorated with shells, flowers, stones, tiny figures, twigs, bits of mirror or broken dishes.
26. Design a garden, even if you have limited or unpromising space. Make a succulent garden in a bowl if there is not actual garden.
27. Design a tiny house.
28. Take a class in something creative like making bead jewellery, life drawing, photography, sculpting, flower arranging, paper folding, stained glass, designing video games, crocheting amigurumi, pottery or painting. Or watch videos online.
29. Look for a book on a creative person who really interests you, such as Picasso, Colette, James Baldwin, Georgia O’Keefe, Taika Waititi or Maya Angelou. Write down any ideas their story sparks in you about what creative things you could do in your life.
30. Make a poem out of a piece of prose online or in a book or magazine, just by re-arranging the lines, without changing, adding or omitting any words.
31. Look at a way of doing things at work and brainstorm to find a way of doing it that is more efficient and streamlined.
32. Think of a new (to you) dish to make with leftover food.
33. Design a greeting card and make it, possibly using found objects such as pressed flowers and leaves, a simple potato print, fabric scraps, buttons and beads, enamel dots, sequins, or beachy bits.
34. Try to invent a new recipe. Maybe ask friends to tell you one random ingredient each then see what you can make with that.
35. Use stencils to make a poster with a funny or snappy saying or favorite mantra, then decorate with gel, felt pens, watercolor pens, colored pencils.
36. Make a short video for social media talking about an area of interest/expertise, high lighting things that are surprising.
37. Try making candles from paraffin wax, soy wax or gel wax. Try making a candle with a wet sand mold, or pouring wax into a milk carton with a long candle surrounded by ice cubes, or making a gel candle with a seascape in it made from sand and beachy bits.
38. Try an activity from a book by art therapist Leah Guzman called Essential Art Therapy Exercises: Effective Techniques to Manage Anxiety, Depression and PTSD. This book contains instructions for 75 artistic activities aimed at helping readers understand their feelings and thoughts more and develop more control over their emotions. They include drawing, painting, sculpting, photograpy, digital, art with found items, writing, and other media. No experience or skill is needed to do them and there are tips and lists of supplies. It costs less than $20. Try to do an activity each day for a week, one that you haven’t tried before.
39. Look at any wood, nails, screws, pieces of plastic, wire or metal that you have lying around and try to come up with something practical and useful to make with them.
40. Try to compose a piece of music for an instrument you play.
41. Try a guided activity from the course Art Activities for Depression, Anxiety and Grief Part 1 with Dr Dawn-Elise Snipes on the Doc Snipes channel on YouTube. It is effectively a session with an art therapist, providing over an hour of practical instruction on exercises including collage, sculpture with playdough or papier mache, puppets, a gratitude tree, a wind chime, stained glass, a flag and a crest or logo.
42. Come up with a theme for a party, invite your friends and make a costume.
43. Take an art therapy course to increase your zest and vitality. Certified and experienced art therapist Anike Kehinde offers a course on Udemy called Art Therapy Course (Beginners to Advanced)for $85 (although it does go on special for $10.99 from time to time.) The course takes a total of seven hours and includes a free workbook. It starts with an introduction to art therapy, then guides the student to set up a safe space to make art. Anike then guides students through a range of artistic activities, including creating mandalas, collages, self portraits and abstract art.

iNuij C et al (2021) Safety Planning-Type Interventions for Suicide Prevention: Meta-Analysis, The British Journal of Psychiatry, 219(2): 419-426.