What if I told you there was something that would help you feel less stressed; something available to you right in this moment to help calm anxiety, interrupt negative thoughts, and engage your childlike enthusiasm. Does that sound too good to be true?
This anxiety-easing, enthusiasm-inducing thing is Creativity. Hear me out.
Creativity is something each of us possess. It may be undeveloped or snoozing in the corner of your psyche, but it’s there. It just needs the invitation to emerge and make itself known. At this point many people will say, “Oh not me, I don’t have a creative bone in my body.” But it’s not your bones that are creative, it’s your right brain that patiently houses this innate ability we all have, but don’t always develop.
Your left brain will tell you this is silly; that you don’t have time for nonsense like this. There are bills to be paid and responsibilities to be met. It will shut down any efforts to nurture your creativity, if you let it.
Creativity is often like a scared dog that is afraid to leave its corner of the cage. It needs to be coaxed out, and made to feel safe to be seen, but this can be done.
To enjoy the benefits of creativity, first a few false beliefs need to be set aside:
- Creativity means painting, writing or performing music, or art in some form.
- You’re either creative or you’re not
- You have to be “good” to merit the time spent on creativity
- If you wouldn’t sell it on Etsy or hang it on the wall, forget it
The blessing of creativity is in the process, not the product.
If it’s been a minute (or decades) since you’ve let your creativity have a romp, it may feel awkward to even consider what you’d like to do, but don’t let that stop you. Recall what you loved to do when you were 5 years old – build? paint? dance? sing? make up stories? Start there and just see where it takes you.
As you breathe life into your right brain and allow yourself to just experiment and have fun, you will feel stress begin to ease, you will be present in the moment, and enjoy a greater sense of calm, but also the joy of creating. I invite you to make time this summer for creativity; to play and create without the pressure of it coming out any particular way. Lean into your innate creativity and relish the ease and joy it brings.
If you would like some support in cultivating your creativity or other stress reducing strategies, schedule a free 30 minute call, and we can explore how life coaching can help.
