Imaginative Techniques as a Tool for Discovering Personal Potential When Working With Gifted Children in Martial Arts Conditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32405/2413-4139-2024-2(33)-78-83Keywords:
imagination, giftedness, logotherapy, Viktor Frankl, existential analysis, education during wartimeAbstract
Spending a prolonged period in a zone of military conflict, despite unwavering faith in victory and the reconstruction of our country after losses, makes it crucial to preserve and strengthen the most valuable resource – human capital and intellectual potential. The article addresses the pressing issue of supporting gifted students during particularly challenging times. The preservation, support, and development of their potential form the foundation for fostering national identity and enhancing the intellectual assets of the country, making this topic highly relevant and strategically significant.
The author emphasizes that giftedness is a multifaceted phenomenon encompassing intellectual abilities, consistent and adaptive social behavior, effective interaction strategies, and a conscious process of personal development. To unlock and support the personal potential of gifted individuals, the author proposes to use imaginative techniques into psychological support methods.
According to Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy and existential analysis, imagination liberates and strengthens one of the fundamental characteristics of the individual – freedom. Through the own imagination, a person can naturally transcend space and time, experiencing possibilities not yet realized in life.
The process of imagination can be directed toward the past, becoming a space of memories where the individual can reflect on lived experiences, pose essential questions about them, and find a meaningful position regarding what has been endured. For the future, imagination allows for the creation of an unlimited number of envisioned scenarios, with the freedom of choice enabling one to bring one of these scenarios to life.
In the process of imagination, individuals experience their desires, aspirations, fears, and creative abilities. Imagination can quite literally save a person’s life, preventing them from breaking under the most unbearable conditions. The inner world of a person, if directed toward creation, can protect from the external world when the external world brings destruction. Moreover, imagination effectively helps individuals change their destructive attitudes, overcoming the boundaries set by their own consciousness.
Thus, in times of profound challenges and circumstances where human consciousness faces distorted perceptions of time, personal will, and life itself – such as prolonged periods in a war zone – imaginative techniques help bridge the gap between the desired and the real. They strengthen the spirit and will, refocusing the individual on the realm of their possibilities.
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