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"Creativity" - Tricia Underwood
I was super excited to talk to Tricia because the focus of her work is to "teach teenagers to be happier, one habit at a time." I am a strong believer that if we want to improve society we need to start with kids. I am also a firm believer that "happiness" is something that we should strive for in life, so I was eager to hear more about Tricia's perspective. As she explained it when she says happiness, she means the type that "comes with a sense of purpose, lasts long term, surfaces to keep you going when you have something boring or overwhelming to do, and keeps a little light on for you when you’re going through a dark patch."
Tricia believes that "creativity" is the way to achieve happiness because when you realize that in every moment you have the ability to create something, life becomes more expansive and enjoyable. This is especially true for teenagers, because typically their days feel very regimented and restrictive. School runs on a very specific schedule, there are very strict demands on what they must do, and it is very easy to forget about the power of creation. So Tricia's goal is to reactivate that creativity and empower them to be excited about how they choose to spend their time.
We didn't shy away from some of the obvious, potential concerns some might have about her work. Some might say it is too idealistic; life is about structure and not always getting to do what you want. Others might say we are already coddle kids too much, so trying to indulge that further is going to cause more problems. And others might say all these "soft skills" Tricia is trying to teach sound nice but don't actually apply to real life. We explored all of this and tried to objectively assess and work through them.
What I was most impressed by in this conversation, was that even though it was focused on "softer" skills/topics, Tricia applies a deep logic in what she does. She doesn't dismiss the importance of structure, limitations, and struggle; she just wants to make sure we aren't forgetting about the importance of creativity and happiness as well.
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By Terry McMullen
5
2323 ratings
I was super excited to talk to Tricia because the focus of her work is to "teach teenagers to be happier, one habit at a time." I am a strong believer that if we want to improve society we need to start with kids. I am also a firm believer that "happiness" is something that we should strive for in life, so I was eager to hear more about Tricia's perspective. As she explained it when she says happiness, she means the type that "comes with a sense of purpose, lasts long term, surfaces to keep you going when you have something boring or overwhelming to do, and keeps a little light on for you when you’re going through a dark patch."
Tricia believes that "creativity" is the way to achieve happiness because when you realize that in every moment you have the ability to create something, life becomes more expansive and enjoyable. This is especially true for teenagers, because typically their days feel very regimented and restrictive. School runs on a very specific schedule, there are very strict demands on what they must do, and it is very easy to forget about the power of creation. So Tricia's goal is to reactivate that creativity and empower them to be excited about how they choose to spend their time.
We didn't shy away from some of the obvious, potential concerns some might have about her work. Some might say it is too idealistic; life is about structure and not always getting to do what you want. Others might say we are already coddle kids too much, so trying to indulge that further is going to cause more problems. And others might say all these "soft skills" Tricia is trying to teach sound nice but don't actually apply to real life. We explored all of this and tried to objectively assess and work through them.
What I was most impressed by in this conversation, was that even though it was focused on "softer" skills/topics, Tricia applies a deep logic in what she does. She doesn't dismiss the importance of structure, limitations, and struggle; she just wants to make sure we aren't forgetting about the importance of creativity and happiness as well.