art – Well of Joy

Creativity is the language of our soul. It's how we communicate with ourselves and others, how we imagine what could be, and paint a picture that inspires us to act. We are all creative beings with a desire to express ourselves. This expression can take many forms - painting, dancing, gardening, or cooking for instance - whatever you choose to do, being creative every day will make a difference in your life. There are many different ways of unwinding at the end of the day or keeping yourself entertained during your free time. Some people work out, others head outside to connect with nature, and some veg out on the couch. These days though, it seems like more people are turning to creative hobbies like baking, painting, crocheting, cooking, and sewing for an engaging and fun way to spend their free time. To get inspired and find a hobby, check out this article on how slow living hobbies can change your life. All these activities have their benefits, but being creative has many unique satisfactions that can bring happiness and fulfillment into your life. Today, I want to share with you the many reasons why you should be doing something creative every day. What is Creativity? Creativity is dreaming up new ideas or new ways to do things and bringing them into reality. It can mean different things for different people but today, I'm defining it as making something new or different from what already exists, expressing yourself in an original way, or spending time doing an artistic activity. “Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy.” – Rollo May, The Courage to Create While creativity is commonly portrayed as painting and drawing, you can find it in business, science, and the way you choose to live your everyday life. You may not always see it that way because so many things seem routine to you, but everything from making your favorite meal for dinner to reading a book on the couch has creative processes involved! Benefits of Doing Something Creative Everyday The act of doing something creative every day increases productivity and helps you see things from different perspectives. Studies have shown that creative people are happier, healthier, and compassionate than their non-creative counterparts. All in all, doing something creative every day can change your life. Let's explore the many benefits being creative every day has to offer. Being Creative Helps You Overcome Self Doubt It's common for people to be held back by their fear of not being good at something. But, being creative every day isn't about being an expert at anything, it's about engaging your brain and expanding your mind. It's important to remember that creativity is a skill that you can learn. It's not something that you're born with or without- it's something you develop. It is the process of generating new ideas for solving problems, making art, exploring relationships, or other issues in your life. “No matter what your age or your life path, whether making art is your career or your hobby or your dream, it is not too late or too egotistical or too selfish or too silly to work on your creativity.” Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity If you're interested in tapping into your inner creativity, I highly recommend the book The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path by Julia Cameron. She takes you on a journey of self-discovery and helps you overcome the self-doubt that prevents so many people from creating. Discover more about The Artist's Way and the morning pages, a transformational self-care journal exercise I do every morning here. If you suffer from self-doubt, know that it doesn't need to be this way. Creativity is about making yourself happy first- by doing something that makes you feel good inside. It can be as simple as drawing or painting, knitting a scarf for someone who needs it, cooking dinner from scratch using fresh ingredients, or writing poetry that expresses how you feel about life right now (even if what comes out isn't perfect). Being Creative Leads to Less Screen Time It can be difficult at first to take the time to do creative things. You may have a day job or other responsibilities, with your spare moments spent catching up on email, social media scrolling, or watching some t.v. before bed. There's nothing wrong with indulging in screen time, but I typically don't feel so great after spending hours on social media or a 4 hour long Netflix binge. Being creative offers a healthy, enjoyable alternative to those hours wasted in front of a screen, If you are someone who struggles to control your extracurricular screen time, committing time each day to being creative can be beneficial for you. Creative People are Generally Happier Creativity boosts happiness because it gives you autonomy over what you do with your time and fosters self-expression through activities like art or writing. From Greatist.com, “Experts say there’s a strong connection between creative expression and overall wellbeing. Key components of the creative personality, like novelty-seeking and perseverance, are also good predictors of life satisfaction. And it works both ways: People also tend to be most creative when they’re in a good mood, possibly because they don’t fixate on individual pieces of information and are able to think more broadly. And according to creativity researcher Dr. Shelley Carson, “Increases in positive mood broaden attention and allow us to see more possible solutions to creative problems.” Creativity Reduces Stress Creativity is something that has always been a huge part of my life. From cooking to drawing to writing, creativity was the one thing I could turn to when I needed help dealing with difficult emotions or just wanted some time for myself. Today, whenever I feel stressed or overwhelmed, I find solace in my creative hobbies. The idea of using creative outlets as an outlet for your feelings isn't new - in fact, many people use it as their main coping strategy. Creativity reduces stress by allowing us to focus on our internal world rather than on external pressures. We all have moments when we feel frustrated, uninspired, or just plain bored. When that happens, it can be hard to find the motivation to do anything but crawl under the covers and hope tomorrow is better. Being creative can be a way to express that in a healthy way. To discover other ways creativity improves mental and physical health, check out this article from Medicalnewstoday.com. Creativity Helps You Get In Touch with Your Intuition Creativity is a powerful tool that quiets the cognitive mind and has the ability to help us get in touch with our intuition and live more authentically. Being creative fuels our intuition and helps us tap into whatever we need to feel balanced or fulfilled in this moment. When we commit to being creative every day, we grow this connection to our inner self and learn to listen to what our minds, bodies, and souls truly need. Discover more on how to connect with your intuition through spritual self-care here. Creativity Increases Problem Solving Skills and Open-Mindedness When you practice being creative every day, you begin to see things with new perspectives and better adapt to the unknown. Being creative develops your problem-solving skills, as well as your ability to be open to new ideas. Both problem solving and being open-minded offer many benefits on your journey through life. Being Creative Can Help You Feel More Confident Being creative requires vulnerability as you learn new things. Creativity asks you to let go of your fear of not being perfect and embrace making mistakes. As you learn to be vulnerable with yourself as you create, you'll find that this spills into all corners of your life, and you become more confident as a result. To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. Joseph Chilton Pearce At the end of the day, there's no right or wrong way to get creative; but I hope you are inspired to commit to creating something every day. We are all creative beings who have a creation inside, waiting to come into the world. Nurture your creativity so you can share it with the world. Thank you for being here, Rebecca