Creativity Check-In: 🌟 "The Window of Tolerance"

How's Everyone Doing? Share Your Project and Special Moment

Sep 14, 2024

Welcome

Hello! I’m Emily Lupita. I’m a travel writer & artist from rural Iowa currently living between Iowa City and Ankara, the capital of Turkiye. I’m also a book series founder & editor.

Creativity Check-Ins are where we come together to share how our creative projects are going, what we’re working on, and stories from our daily lives as creative people. I’ll also share an activity for some self-care & to get our creative energy flowing.

This is a new feature on - Emily Lupita Explores - a creativity journal where I share explorations from my writing desk & art projects, plus illustrated stories of travel adventures with my two Autistic sons.

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🌟 Check-in by sharing your answers in the comments:

How’s it going?

What are you working on?

Share a special moment with us.

How’s It Going?

It’s a cold November afternoon in the mountains of Turkiye and I’m trying to process the Presidential election in America. Looking at the election from where I am in the Middle East is a learning opportunity for me, especially now that I’m working at one of the largest newspapers here and reading the news for hours most days.

What Are You Working On?

I’m working on Chapter 3 of The Poet’s Daughter and the next Lupita self-portrait.

Share A Special Moment With Us

My special moment this week came as my sons and I spent Sunday all snuggled up inside the house. It was the first really chilly day here and we didn’t make it out to the park as I intended. But we did have a dance party and expressed ourselves through movement - even Charlie got in on the party and danced in the middle of the living room for a few seconds. The positive energy and happiness fueled me up. I’m grateful.

🌟 Activity for Self-Care

The Window of Tolerance

Today’s creative self-care activity is to make our own “Window of Tolerance” sketch. Here’s a little about the window of tolerance from PyschCentral:

This concept was developed by Dan Siegel, MD, and refers to the ideal emotional zone that a person needs for optimal functioning. If you’re within your optimal tolerance zone, you feel grounded and can manage your emotions effectively.

Above is a graph I made to show the window (optimal tolerance) and the two sides: hypo and hyper-arousal. On the HYPO side, emotions like depression & exhaustion can occur. While on the HYPER side, emotions like anxiety and agitation can occur.

Of course, it’s different for each person as we all have different types of windows of different widths. And we all have different emotions wrapped up in the ‘curtains’ on either side. The key is to know our window well and how to stay standing in front of it - in the light.

Let’s use this black-and-white blank version of the window and curtains above. Just print it and grab a few colored pencils, your watercolors, some markers, highlighters…whatever you have within easy reach. You can draw your own window & curtains, or use your phone or tablet’s “mark up” to digitally color the photo, too.

What colors are your window and two curtains?
Write the emotions you have during Hypo and Hyper-arousal…and what emotions are evident when you are standing within the window of tolerance.
Feel free to draw yourself, your activities, pets, hobbies…whatever feels best.

🎨 Here’s my sketch as an example.

🌟 How was the activity? Share your thoughts in the comments. 🌟

👩🏻‍💻 Social Media & 💌 Sharing

I’m on social media: Instagram: @EmilyLupitaExplores and Facebook here.
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