Episode 6:

Written By Nicole Shannon

Taming the Dark Side of Creativity

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲?

In this compelling episode of The Creative Advantage, host Nicole Shannon explores an often-overlooked truth: creativity isn’t always light and inspiration. Sometimes, it fuels fear, anxiety, and spiraling self-doubt. But what if you could harness that same energy to design solutions, build resilience, and reclaim your inner power?

Nicole invites you to examine the dark side of creativity—and more importantly, how to transform it. Through neuroscience, storytelling, and practical exercises, you’ll learn to redirect your imagination away from disaster-movie thinking and toward life-giving momentum.

Creativity is neutral—it's how you use it that matters. Learn how to channel it wisely.

🎧 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿:

✧ Why highly creative minds are often also high-functioning worriers
✧ How your brain’s evolutionary wiring can hijack your creative power
✧ The dangers of rehearsing failure—and how to flip the script
✧ Ways to channel anxiety into meaningful problem-solving and action
✧ The science behind gratitude and how it rewires your brain for success
✧ A science-backed activity to help you to shift from fear to flow

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who’s ever stayed up spiraling in “what ifs,” wrestled with self-sabotage, or gotten stuck in fear based thinking.

🔗 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲:

💬 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲? Subscribe and share it with a friend.

  • Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377

    Gabora, L., & Riley, S. N. (2013). Evidence that threatening situations enhance creativity. arXiv preprint arXiv:1305.0175. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1305.0175

    Gabora, L., & Unrau, M. (2018). The role of engagement, honing, and mindfulness in creativity. arXiv preprint arXiv:1807.01329. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1807.01329

    Kaufman, J. C., & Kozbelt, A. (2009). The psychology of creative writing. Cambridge University Press.

    McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(1), 112–127. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.112

    Rustichini, A., et al. (2021). Exploring neural mechanisms of the health benefits of gratitude. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 130, 105265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105265

    Watkins, P. C., Woodward, K., Stone, T., & Kolts, R. L. (2003). Gratitude and happiness: Development of a measure of gratitude, and relationships with subjective well-being. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 31(5), 431–451. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2003.31.5.431

    Wong, Y. J., Owen, J. T., Gabana, N. T., Brown, J. W., & McInnis, S. (2018). Does gratitude writing improve the mental health of psychotherapy clients? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Psychotherapy Research, 28(2), 324–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2016.1169332

    Zhu, Y., Qiu, J., Wang, Z., & Zhang, Q. (2019). Investigating links between creativity anxiety, state anxiety and creative performance. Scientific Reports, 9, 39188. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-39188-4

Nicole Shannon
Next

Episode 5: