Creativity for health
How many of y’all wish you were creative? Well, I have good news for you… you are! We’re so busy not wanting to stick out, we’ve lost sight of independent thinking. Creativity is not about making beautiful artworks, it’s about having original ideas and being open to making mistakes.
It’s not news that out-of-the-box thinking attracts success. However, you may not know that creativity has the ability to drastically improve your overall wellbeing. Creativity empowers numerous health benefits including:
Builds confidence, self esteem and sense of fulfillment
Benefits neuroplasticity (brain’s ability to adapt to changes by forming new neural connections), playing an important role in aging process
Strengthens social connection - we are drawn to creativity, art connects us
Strengthens mind-body connection by bringing conceptual thinking to physical life
Improves immune system by decreasing inflammation
Sharpens your senses through fine motor movements and concentration on a singular task, giving brain a break from constant sensory overload
Calms the nervous system - improves sleep, digestion, emotional processing, healing from trauma, and more
Encourages the state of flow (mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement and enjoyment in the process of the activity) - creating the opportunity for more elaborate mental connections. More information on the flow state: https://positivepsychology.com/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-father-of-flow/#what-happens-brain
Unfortunately, most of us have lost touch with this sense of intellectual freedom. As we age, we grow aware of the people around us and what they are doing, increasing the fear we may be doing it “wrong” and losing sight of original thought. The good news is, you are as creative as ever! As Sir Ken Robinson says, “we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it.” It is just a matter of reigniting the creative light already within us.
Artistic endeavors come in all forms, so it is important to find something that resonates with you. My favorite ways to tap into my creativity include cooking, fashion, writing, reading fiction, and coming up with new ways to incorporate healthy habits into a busy schedule. However, the possibilities are limitless and opportunities are all around you!
If you find yourself in a creative rut - here are my tips:
Have you noticed you tend to get your best ideas in the shower or while you are trying to fall asleep? This is because your brain is at REST - taking a break from the constant stimulus it has to make sense of. If you want to connect with your creativity - give yourself moments without distraction. I love this article on the scientifically supported benefits of downtime: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-downtime/
Other tools promoting connection with your creative self are quality sleep, meditation, immersing in nature, and journaling. In the book, The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron’s top tool for connecting with creativity is what she calls morning pages. When you wake up, free write three pages that essentially mind dump everything you are thinking. They do not have to be written eloquently and they are not meant for anyone else to read. This provides one of two things. First, these pages provide a safe space to get rid of all the thoughts swirling in the forefront of your brain, increasing focus, processing, and productivity. Second, you will be surprised that it actually makes way for the breakthrough of creative ideas!
Sir Ken Robinson says, ““If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” So my last piece of advice to reap the mounds of benefits from engaging in creative endeavors is to stop worrying about doing it wrong! As Nike says: JUST DO IT!
For more on the topic, here are some resources:
https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061339202
https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity/c
https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_cape_a_deeper_understanding_of_creativity
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-creativity-positively-impacts-your-health-5113162
