Creative thinking to make change easy: A path to personal transformation

Guest post written by Vivian Geffen (CGS’85, MET’88), author & owner of CreativityMuse | Published October 2024

Recorded: November 15, 2024

Are you going to be the captain of your process or let the tide drag you and drop you somewhere you might not want to be? Perhaps it’s time to find a new role, change your lifestyle, or navigate unexpected challenges. The experience of change can be overwhelming and leave one feeling unempowered. But what if there was a way to claim the change and transform uncertainty into opportunity by tapping into the creative potential you already possess?

That’s the premise of the upcoming BU Alumni Career webinar, The Creative CORE — Creative Thinking to Make Change Easy. In this session, you’ll learn how to leverage a creative thinking model for personal transformation during times of transition. It’s designed to equip you with practical tools to identify what truly matters, help you navigate the gaps that arise in moments of change, and make progress toward a future that aligns with your vision so you can maintain an empowered mindset that helps you identify the best questions and actions to take next.

Curious? Here’s a sneak peek of what we’ll cover and the insights you’ll gain from attending:

1. Listen to Yourself: Unlock Your Inner Wisdom

One of the most overlooked aspects of change is the importance of listening to yourself. When faced with uncertainty, we often seek external validation—turning to friends, colleagues, or experts for advice. While that feedback can be helpful, the most valuable insights often come from within.

Listening to yourself means taking time to pause, reflect, and connect with what’s truly important to you. It’s about recognizing your desires, needs, and values, and letting those guide your decisions. In the webinar, I’ll share techniques for developing this inner dialogue and helping you tune into your internal compass, so you can clarify your vision for the future.

2. Embrace what you don’t want: A surprising source of clarity

We often focus on defining what we want in life, but understanding what we don’t want is just as crucial. Why? Because it helps us identify boundaries that prevent us from recreating situations that drain our energy or misalign with our goals.
In times of change, it’s easy to get swept up in “shiny object syndrome”—new opportunities, roles, or paths that seem exciting but don’t align with your deeper purpose. By identifying what you don’t want, you can narrow down your options and avoid unnecessary distractions.

During the webinar, we’ll explore how to identify your non-negotiables—those aspects of life that you are not willing to compromise on. This clarity will allow you to make choices that are aligned with your authentic self and your future vision, making the process of transformation smoother and more intentional.

3. Manage Uncertainty: How to Thrive in the Liminal Space

True change involves stepping into the unknown, and with that comes uncertainty. This liminal space—the space between where you were and where you want to be—can be uncomfortable. But it’s also where creative breakthroughs happen.

Instead of trying to rush through uncertainty or control every outcome, I’ll show you how to embrace it. Managing uncertainty isn’t about eliminating it but learning to coexist with it in a way that doesn’t paralyze you.

In the webinar, we’ll discuss how to reframe uncertainty as a fertile ground for creativity and innovation. You’ll learn techniques for staying open, flexible, and resilient during this transitional phase, allowing you to see possibilities you might have missed.

Why this matters for you

Whether you’re actively going through a change or anticipating one in the near future, this webinar offers tools that will not only help you manage transitions but thrive in them. Change doesn’t have to be overwhelming or chaotic—it can be an opportunity for growth and transformation. By listening to yourself, defining what you don’t want, and managing uncertainty with creative thinking, you can navigate change with greater ease and confidence.

Join me for Creative Thinking to Make Change Easy and discover how to turn life’s transitions into opportunities for personal transformation. Together, we’ll explore how creative thinking can equip you to move through change with clarity, purpose, and, yes, even ease.

About the author: Vivian Geffen holds a Master’s degree in creativity from Buffalo State College. Vivian is also the author of The Creative CORE: A Practical People’s Guide to Creativity for Personal Transformation. With over 30 years of experience in the realm of personal transformation, she has explored multiple modalities and honed her skills in improvisational theater, leading workshops across the country. Vivian naturally integrated the principles of creativity and innovation from the business world into personal transformation. In her November 15 webinar, she will introduce the Creative CORE method, demonstrating how you can apply these processes in your own life to navigate change with intention and ease. Find Vivian’s book at Barnes & Noble.