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Values: Art, Creativity, Expression

Values: Art, Creativity, Expression

Values: Art, Creativity, Expression

By: Abby Twyman   |   October 1, 2019

I’ve spent the better part of my 38 years ignoring the artistic and creative side of myself. When I was little (around 4), I recall putting on performances for my family, but that stopped shortly thereafter. I remember thinking of myself as painfully shy. Whenever I would put myself out there, something dreadfully embarrassing would happen which would stir thoughts of inferiority. Who was I to put myself out there for all the world to see only to mess up and have my failure on full display? No, thank you!

Growing up I was drawn to acting and dancing as well as music and art and performing but didn’t pursue these interests with passion. Rather, I kept my head down and stayed focused on serious matters such as reading, writing, math, and science. These are areas in which I excelled with very minimal effort, and they were also things that required very little human interaction. When work was completed, I would receive accolades for being smart and competent. Yay me!

But something always seemed to be missing. It wasn’t as fulfilling as I thought, hoped, or wished it would be. It didn’t bring meaning or purpose to my life. I worked hard to pursue greater and greater accomplishments, but they always fell short of expectations. I was left feeling empty, dull and uninspired. Once I was able to be completely honest with myself I accepted the thought that music, dancing, performing, creating, writing, and inspiring others through my creative expression was a much stronger motivating force in my life and that in addition to being academically high performing my creative side was equally as amazing.

I spent my life focusing on the development of one side with small spurts of creative expression interspersed. I’m ready to live a life that is in better balance with my full set of values because I now realize how interconnected they are. The more fun, energetic, creative, and freely expressive I am... the better wife, friend, teacher, and human I will be and the more inspiring I will be to others in the world which will help me fulfill my mission to take action for a peaceful world.

If you would like to learn more about my story and get access to interesting content related to the science of behavior and learning and how it interconnects with every aspect of your life, please consider joining our community and participating in our courses. We're on a mission to create a more peaceful world through the systematic application of behavioral science, and a portion of all revenue from course sales goes to building our Alaskan Oasis and developing the Warrior Club afterschool program!

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