Creativity

In recent conversations, I’ve found that lots of folks are down on themselves when it comes to the creativity department. They have put themselves in a box where they either are or aren’t a creative person. And that is so sad because we are all creative!

There is a hilarious TikTok creator — Tanara Mallory — who coined the catchphrase “everybody’s so creative” on her videos where she watches people cook some truly wild meals. But I love that there is truth within the joke. 

Everybody IS so creative! And it’s important to flex that muscle, no matter if you think you’re creative or not. 

Here are some benefits to expressing your creative side:

• It helps process difficult emotions
• It helps recover from traumatic events
• It helps you access your “flow state”
• It helps treat dementia
• It helps overall mental well being
• It helps make you smarter 

Sound great, right? And now you may be thinking, “Natalie, we’re adults. I’m not going to learn to be an artist at my age.” Well good news: You don’t have to learn anything new or spend any money to start being creative today. I’ll never forget when we were kids and our parents told one of my sisters she needed a creative outlet. She looked straight at them and said, “My outfit is my creative outlet!” tossed her hair, and walked away like she was on a runway.

But even if fashion isn’t your outlet, there are some very accessible ways to be creative right now: 

• Take pictures on your phone from a different angle than you normally use (I like to switch to my front camera and take pictures of the sky to get a different perspective)
• Edit a picture that’s already on your phone
• Doodle (you can throw it away and no one has to see it if you’re insecure) 
• Make (or even just plate) a “fancy” meal
• Dance! 

On the flip side, people who are highly creative can experience burnout. I recently heard a professional artist talk about how we treat artists like this never-ending fount of creative inspiration. But that’s not the case. Artists need a break from their normal art forms in order to recharge and recover. If that’s you, here are some ways to still express yourself while recovering:

• Try a new form of art (as a writer, it’s super important for me to have non-verbal artistic outlets)
• Take a class to learn a totally new skill
• Dance! 
• Or maybe even do nothing! When you feel drained, sometimes you just need time for your reserves to refill. 

Finding small ways to be creative can alter your day and offer long term benefits the more that you incorporate it. 

So this week’s 1% Better challenge is to find one opportunity a day to be creative. No one has to know you did it. This is for you! You’ve got this!

With gratitude,

Natalie

P.S. If you want a really great, quick read on creativity, I highly recommend Rick Rubin’s book “The Creative Act: A Way of Being.”