Author: sheilapontis
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Narrow the Imagination Deficit
Despite AI and the rapid technology development, we still live in a human-powered world. However educational institutions, organizations, and governments do not embrace humanity’s superpowers, and have an imagination deficit. While I often stress the need for imagination – and other human skills – in higher education, the same need applies to any organization. Nurturing…
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Discover, Imagine, Create – An Integrated Approach
Imagination and emotional well-being are deeply intertwined – they share a symbiotic relationship: both constructs are critical for individuals and communities to make change in their lives and in society. Have you ever paid attention to how you feel when you are imagining and daydreaming? If so, you probably have noticed the strong positive impact…
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Signs of Unreadiness for Boosting Well-Being & Imagination
Lately, focusing on inner development and imagining a better life has become a trend. Articles, talks, and courses to help people be happier, dream, or find their path in the world pop up every week. Similarly, becoming a coach is a career path that has gained track in the last years. Is it that easy…
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Why Human Skills in an AI Society Matter
Uniquely human skills – like the ones below – are also called soft skills, durable skills, non-cognitive, or power skills. These skills are referred as “human” because, so far, they are unable to be replicated by any technology; yes, not even AI. These skills are our foundation as people through which we learn social-emotional competencies…
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Can imagination bring The Smile back?
My short answer is YES – but first let’s explain what “Smile” I’m referring to. In the 2000s, David Blanchflower’s research indicated a correlation between age and happiness: teens and 20s were some of the happiest and most enjoyable times of life, followed by a decline through the 30s and 40s, hitting the lowest point…
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When Savoring meets Co-Imagination
This week the focus in the personal well-being course was on emotions — particularly on cultivating positive emotions. Savoring is a common technique, developed by psychologists Bryant and Veroff (2007), used in positive psychology to consciously (re)experience, appreciate, intensify, and extend the feelings we get from positive emotions and experiences. Building on the Savoring technique, I…
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Imagination + Well-Being in Action: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum
This semester I’m teaching a new elective course on personal well-being with a twist. Rather than following traditional emotional well-being approaches from positive psychology or cognitive behavioral therapy, I’m piloting an interdisciplinary curriculum which integrates mindfulness, metacognition, and positive psychology with imagination (and creativity). Positive Psychology: An important goal of the course is to encourage…
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Re-Learn to Imagine Challenge!
The Dot and The Line activity was created by Parnes, Noller & Biondi (1977) as part of their Creative Problem Solving programs. Since 2021, I have been inviting students, colleagues, and clients to complete this activity to help them better understand their thought patterns and uncover internal barriers that hinder their imagination and creative potential. Imagination…
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Imagination Lights People Up
Imagination is fun and magical! Just think Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory or any of Pixar movies – such as Finding Nemo. The good news is that everyone can imagine; this is our capacity to construct mental representations of concepts, things, people, or situations that do not exist. We are engaging with our imagination…
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Nurture Imagination in Your Back Yard (or balcony!)
Nature is powerful. Research (e.g., here and here) has shown the benefits for emotional and physical well-being resulting from living near green areas, spending time in nature, and even looking at images of nature. Nature can also boost imagination – for instance, through gardening. This was my experience this Summer, as we explored the joys,…
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AI Reveals a Gap on Imagination for Well-Being Research
I’m not a huge user of AI – probably I have used it twice in my life (yes, really), but this week I was playing around with Perplexity, the free AI-powered answer engine which claims to provide “accurate, trusted, and real-time answers to any question.” So I decided to explore who was working on the…
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New Chapter: Imagination for Emotional Well-being
For almost 25 years, my career has exclusively centered in the design space. Through my work, I have led design higher education, brought social science and anthropology research closer to design practice and academia, and contributed with a more expansive way to approach information design. The three books I have authored and co-authored and multiple…
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