Creativity is often viewed as a rare gift, but it is in fact a mastery of skills. Such mastery is exactly what we need to be intentional with our growth.
This life is a time for us to learn and grow, but often we struggle to know how to achieve anything at all. Maybe we feel like we don’t have what it takes to reach our goals, or we don’t know which activities to prioritize. In his BYU speech “A Creative Mind,” Elder Angel Abrea presents a pattern for developing a creative mind so we can use focused and spirit-guided action to accomplish anything God or life may require of us. He mentions five steps we must take on the path to exercising our creative mind, or in other words, learning how to really think.
Photo by Radu Florin
- We must observe. This action is more than just looking; it should inform us.
- We must ponder and pray, making what we have observed a part of us. The meditation involved in pondering can serve as a “spiritual preparation for making correct decisions” as we consider our options.
- We must simplify and organize the information, ensuring that our goals or choices mirror the simplicity of the gospel and are not overwhelming.
- Once we have simplified our options, we must decide and act; we must go and do.
- Finally, we must control and diligently pursue, requiring that we continue to act until we have reached our goal or made our decision.
Following this pattern can empower us to grow through decisive action.
In addition, Elder Abrea shares that we must have faith to act, courage to continue, and humility to understand our value. If we follow his advice, he promises that “upon accomplishing each task we should be able to enjoy a peace within ourselves, a peace that comes with knowing that all possible had been done.”
Read the full version of Elder Angel Abrea’s talk “A Creative Mind” to discover how creativity can strengthen your ability to act decisively when faced with life’s challenges.
Source: BYU Speeches
—Emma Hill, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY SHARON MCCUTCHEON
Find more insights
Take a look at Elder Michael A. Dunn’s October 2021 general conference address “One Percent Better” to learn more about how consistent effort can lead to great personal growth.
Check out Teya Jensen’s Latter-day Saint Insight article “Created to Be Creative” to read about our natural creative ability as children of God.
I like that “observe” is the first step here. I think that careful and considerate observation of the world around us is really beneficial to helping us make decisions.
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