Creativity

Being creative in failure is still creativity…

"He who cannot bear difficulties, always prefers to withdraw.

He sees nothing on the horizon except a mirage.

He is creative in drawing failure.

He walks and tramples on hope.

He finds nothing but ills on the path.”

A quote by José Ortega y Gasset

Being creative in failure - is still creativity… 👇

Sometimes, we use our own intelligence to keep ourselves stuck...

We can use our brilliance to stay still, or to grow!

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💡 This quote stopped me in my tracks.

👉 It’s not poetic.

👉 It’s diagnostic!

💡 Because sometimes, the sharpest minds are the first to despair...

💡 They don’t give-up out of weakness - but out of logic.

🔷 Too much clarity.

🔷 Too much memory.

🔷 Not enough proof that motion will matter this time....

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💡 We call it avoidance.

But often, it’s intelligence-TURNED INWARD!

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 🔷 Foresight, used to imagine self-defeat

🔷 Caution, repurposed as paralysis

🔷 Safety, dressed up as self-doubt

🔷 Precision, now spotting only our own cracks...

🔷 Analysis, turned into self-accusation!

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💡 The truth is:

👉Most withdrawal isn’t passive…It’s active.

 👉Constructed.

👉Engineered with PRECISION!

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But as Ortega warned -

Being creative in failure is still creativity…

💡 So the real challenge is:

• Can you use that same brilliance to imagine a way forward?

Because if you can build a collapse…

You can design a path.

Your mind isn’t the enemy.

It’s the map.

💡Use it wisely

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There’s a specific kind of "stuck" feeling, that comes from being too aware, too thoughtful, too observant.

People assume that withdrawal is passive, but anyone who has lived inside it knows how active it really is.

There’s calculation behind it.

Memory behind it.

Fear shaped into logic.

When you’ve been disappointed enough times, your brain learns to “predict” collapse before life even begins to move.

It feels smart.

It feels protective.

It feels like preparation.

But the truth is, this form of creativity- designing failure, imagining collapse, over-planning every possible downside - is still creativity.

It’s imagination working against you instead of for you.

Ortega’s quote exposes that pattern without judging it.

It shows how easy it is to use intelligence for self-preservation instead of growth.

The mind becomes a machine for rehearsing fear.

It prepares exits instead of entrances.

It builds arguments instead of paths.

And yet, the same mental strength that constructs avoidance can construct possibility.

Not in a forced, positive-thinking way.

But in a grounded, realistic way.

You don’t need to silence your mind.

You need to redirect it.

If you can imagine every way something could collapse, you have the mental skill to imagine one scenario where things work.

⭐If you can build walls, you can build bridges.

⭐If you can create reasons to stay still, you can create reasons to take one small step.

Your mind is not your enemy.

But it needs new instructions.

New data.

A new job that isn’t simply predicting pain before you even try.

Growth doesn’t come from ignoring your fears.

It comes from using your intelligence to support movement, not block it.

Reflective Questions:

• Where do you see your mind working against you instead of for you?

• What fear shows up first when you imagine taking a step forward?

• What would “one safe step” look like instead of “a perfect leap”?

• What support do you avoid even when it’s right in front of you?

• If you used your creativity to design progress instead of collapse, what would that design look like?

About My Artwork - Symbolism and Themes

 The Ballerina:

🔹️ Poised, precise, withdrawn.

🔹️ Composure replaces connection.

🔹️ Grace becomes her defense.

🔹️ She channels her strength into control, not change.

She looks stable and elegant, but everything about her is held in place.

Her balance is real, yet it keeps her fixed on the same spot.

This is what it can look like when we use our inner strength only to maintain control, not to move.

Origami:

🔹️ Emotions, folded into logic.

🔹️ Order replaces feeling.

🔹️ Structure becomes silence, replaces motion.

🔹️ Prediction replaces hope.

The origami surfaces are sharp and neat, but they leave no room to soften or unfold.

Every feeling has been folded into a shape that looks clean, but cannot breathe.

It is the visual language of overthinking, where everything is organized, yet nothing actually changes.

The Hand:

🔹️ Support offered, but not forced

🔹️ She sees it… but doesn’t trust it.

🔹️ Connection remains unclaimed.

Help is there, close and steady, yet she does not lean into it.

This hand is the friend, the chance, the offer, the new path we notice but do not take.

It shows that the problem is not the lack of support, but the lack of trust.

The Stone she stands on:

🔹️ A fixed position.

🔹️ Chosen for safety, not growth.

🔹️ There’s no bridge, only stillness.

🔹️ No path, she is stuck in her place.

🔹️ She prefers being stuck over risking a step into the unknown.

The stone gives her something solid, but it also keeps her anchored.

There is no direction built into it, only height and distance.

It is the comfort zone that feels necessary, yet quietly blocks any forward motion.

The Stones she throws:

🔹️ Weapons made of thought.

🔹️ Each one equals fear, doubt, logic, memory.

🔹️ She defends with precision and creativity.

🔹️ Her defense is elegant.

🔹️ She tramples hope before it can disappoint her.

These are the what ifs she launches at every new idea.

They are clever, well argued, and often true enough to feel final.

She protects herself by shooting down possibility before it has a chance to help her.

This artwork is not judging her.

It is simply showing how a bright mind can become its own shield, and how that same mind could one day design a different story.

Disclaimer

This reflection shares personal insights about mindset, avoidance, and emotional patterns. It is not medical or therapeutic advice. If you are experiencing ongoing anxiety or distress, please consider seeking professional support.