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Joyspan: Enjoying Life, Not Just Living It
By Shlomo Maital
Today’s New York Times brings an interesting piece by Jancee Dunn, on “Joyspan”. Joyspan is about living long, but not just counting the years but doing so in a manner that is enjoyable, fruitful, happy, productive and meaningful. Joy Span, not just Life Span.
Chase suggests four key elements of a Joy Span:
Grow. Keep doing new things, learning new things. Trying new things. Welcome change. Become smarter, wiser, and yes, fitter. It is possible. I gave up running, after a long span of running daily, two marathons, and a pure love of jogging. Instead, I walk, often uphill, to boost fitness. It came in handy recently, during a conference in a hilly city in Portugal.
Adapt. If you can’t run, walk. If you have trouble walking, do chair exercises. If you have trouble reading fine print, buy large print books or listen to podcasts. As we grow older, many parts of our bodies don’t work that well. Fix what you can, or what the doctors can, and move on….
Give. Often, we seniors focus on ourselves, our needs, our pains, our difficulties. That does not contribute to a Joy Span. Focus on others. Family, grandchildren, loved ones, friends, even strangers. And give to them, whenever and whatever you can. That is a real joy.
And Connect. Connect with others. It is pretty easy as a senior to let the walls close in. As best you can, connect with others. The storekeeper. The cashier. The cab driver. Even fleeting connections bring joy. Maybe, a little extra tip to the cab driver…and a big thank you.
Here is the mnemonic: G A G C. Try it. Probably you’re already doing it. And even 2 out of 4 is a big help.
How to Raise a Creative Child
By Shlomo Maital
Adam Grant, a Wharton management professor and New York Times Op-Ed contributor, has written a wonderful piece on “how to raise a creative child”, based on solid research. Here are a few of his observations. Parents (and grandparents): Take note.
- Malcolm Gladwell, in one of his books, says success depends on investing 10,000 hours of practice. OK…but, says Grant, “can’t practice blind us to ways to improve our area of study?…the more we practice, the more we become entrenched – trapped in familiar ways of thinking?
- What motivates people to practice a skill…is passion – discovered through natural curiosity or nurtured through early enjoyable experiences with an activity or many activities.
- Psychologist Benjamin Bloom’s study of the early roots of world-class musicians, artists and scientists found that “their parents didn’t dream of raising superkids. They responded to the intrinsic motivation of their children. When their children showed interest and enthusiasm, their parents supported them.”
- What does it take to raise a creative child? One study showed: parents of ordinary (non-creative) children had an average of six rules, like schedules, bedtime… parents of highly creative children had an average of fewer than one rule.
- Harvard Prof. Teresa Amabile, creativity guru, says parents of creative children placed emphasis on moral values, rather than on specific rules. At Grafton MA.’s Touchstone School, I had a wonderful discussion with children; they told me that once they integrated the school’s core values, rules of behavior were no longer necessary.
- Parents of creative children encouraged their kids to find “joy in work”. Their children had the freedom to sort out their own values and discover their own interests. And that set them up to flourish as creative adults.
- It’s not rocket science. Find what your kids love doing, what stimulates their interest. Help them pursue them. Let them enjoy the pursuit. Build in their core values, then make them think for themselves about how to apply them. Avoid long lists of rules. Let them have fun. Give them freedom to explore. And, though Grant doesn’t say this, make them T-shaped. Deep knowledge in something. Wide broad knowledge in many things.
Adam Grant. How to raise a creative child. International New York Times, Wed. Feb. 3, 2016, p. 9.
TIMnovate 