The Black Hole & Creativity Prof. Donna DeWitt Sport / Performance Psychologist Academic Year 2015

The Black Hole and causal factors The Black Hole and causal factors ‘Know thyself’; The Black Hole & Identity ‘Know thyself’; The Black Hole & Identity Avoiding the B. H.: preventative steps Avoiding the B. H.: preventative steps Creative thinking Creative thinking Enhancing personal creativity Enhancing personal creativity

The Black Hole What is the Black Hole? Can it be prevented? How?

Theoretical Perspectives of Career Termination “Social death”: Social isolation and rejection from the former in-group Criticism?

Theoretical Perspectives of Career Termination… Social gerontology: Emphasis on aging and considers life satisfaction as dependent upon characteristics of the sport experience  Disengagement theory  Activity theory  Continuity theory  Social breakdown theory

Multidimensional conceptualization  Individual motives, values, goals, problem solving skills  Situational circumstances of retirement, prior planning, retirement income  Structural social class, marital status, availability of social systems Career Termination: A transition  Social family, friends, extended social support  Boundary constraints social definitions, economic cycles, employer attitudes

Seven-step model of transition  Immobilization, shock from the event  Minimization, negative emotions are downplayed  Self-doubt, self-esteem threatened & depression  Letting go, individual works through feelings of loss, anger, and disappointment  Testing out groundwork for a new direction is laid  Searching for meaning, individual gains perspective on difficulties of earlier stages  Internalization, when this insight is accepted and the transition is complete

Kubler-Ross’s human grieving model  Denial against the initial trauma  Anger about the perceived injustice and lack of control  Bargaining to delay the inevitable  Depression over acceptance of the loss  Full acceptance and a re- orientation toward the future

Causes of career termination Physiological Psychological (motivation & priorities) Chronological Age Significant issue for those at the highest rung of the competitive ladder Deselection Injury prone Relationship with other life crisis Adherence issues in rehabilitation? Effects of Injury

Factors contributing to ‘crisis’ of career termination Self-identity  Self-worth  Uni-dimensionality

Contributing factors… Perceptions of control Social identity Social support Pre-retirement planning

“Know thyself” Prevention & ‘treatment’ Research… Due to the relative scarcity of systematic investigation into the area of career termination, there is considerable room for contribution to the theoretical and empirical literature. To date, there has been little empirical research examining the significant factors in this process. As Landers (1983) has argued, there is a significant need in sport psycholog y for more theory-driven study of important issues. In addition, there is a noticeable lack of empirical data to substantiate the positions held by the leading thinkers in the area. As a consequence, a program of empirical research based on a sound working model of the career termination process should be the goal.

Creative Thinking  The act of producing an idea or product that changes an existing domain or that transforms an existing domain into a new one.  A creative person is someone whose thoughts or actions change a domain, or establish a new domain.

System’s Model Creativity can be observed in the interrelations of a system made up of three main parts:  Domain  Field  Person

Enhancing personal creativity  Curiosity and Interest  Try to be surprised by something every day  Try to surprise at least one person every day  Write down each day what surprised you and how you surprised others  When something strikes a spark of interest, follow it..

Enhancing personal creativity  Cultivating Flow in Everyday Life  Wake up with a specific goal to look forward to  If you do anything well it becomes enjoyable  To keep enjoying something, you need to increase its complexity

Enhancing personal creativity  Habits of Strength  Take charge of your schedule  Make time for reflection and relaxation  Shape your space  Find out what you like and hate about life  Start doing more of what you love, less of what you hate