Do you consider yourself a creative person? Most adults who don't have a career or passion in some area of the arts, would likely respond with a resounding "NO" to this question. Upon further questioning, they may even share the belief that creative people are born creative and "I just don't have a creative bone in my body".

Want to know a secret about creativity? While some people may naturally be more creative, there isn't a creativity bone, and all humans are born with a level of innate creativity.

Think back to your childhood. I bet you spent hours playing pretend games either by yourself or with siblings or friends. You probably invented pretend adventures out of thin air. You may recognize this in your children or those you see in your day-to-day life. Children have a knack of finding something that interests them and engaging in creative play at the drop of a hat.

Little House on the Prairie

This reminds me of a time I spent the day at a friend's house. I was probably 7 or 8 years old. I don't remember many details except that they had a horse with a hoof problem, they were allowed to drink Yoo-hoo as a normal thing (my mom would have fainted!) and they had a creek running through their property.

That creek was especially intriguing to me. I was a huge fan of the Little House books and fancied myself a 20th century Laura Ingalls. She was born in 1867, I was born in 1967. We were practically twins!

Upon seeing this creek, I convinced my friend that we should try to catch a fish like the olden days. I was Laura of course. My friend was Mary because she had blonde hair. We found some string and a safety pin and off we headed across "the prairie" to the creek.

We found a long stick to use as a fishing pole and tied the string and safety pin carefully to it. We must have had some sort of bait, although I don't recall. We sat there for a couple of hours, taking turns holding the pole, imagining what other adventures Laura and Mary might have that day.

Suddenly there was a tug on the line. We were shocked to discover we actually had a fish on our safety pin hook. Little House time was suddenly forgotten. We managed to retrieve the pin, releasing the fish from the hysterical and tragic end it may have met at the hands of two little girls and ran back to her house with quite the fish tale to tell.

Following our Interests.

We were just normal kids doing normal things utilizing our creativity. We didn't plan our adventure. We just moved through our day and followed whatever piqued our interest. We didn't have an agenda other than to have fun and see where the day led us.

You might be thinking, "Well that's fine for kids, but as an adult, I don't have the luxury to just see where my day leads. I have responsibilities and I don't have time to follow my interests".

I'd like to challenge that idea. Frankly, I'd like to turn it on its head. Creativity doesn't have to take a lot of time and energy. All it takes is attention and intention.

Here are a few ideas to add a splash of creativity to your everyday life:

1. Take a 60-second stretch break before you hop into the shower.
2. Add a dash of cinnamon to your morning coffee.
3. Play a game with your child on the way to school.
4. Leave a fun, encouraging and/or romantic note for a family member.
5. Listen to an audiobook or podcast in the car.
6. Play instrumental music in the background of your workday.
7. Take a walk in nature. No headphones, just listen.
8. Pick up something on your walk. A stone, a flower, a leaf, or stick.
9. Plant a seed or even place green onion roots in a glass of water and watch them regrow.
10. Make a beautiful plate at dinner. Even simple food is beautiful with a few thoughtful touches.
11. Keep a One Line a Day Journal. 60 seconds to record your thoughts.

You may be thinking these ideas sound simple and wondering why you should even care. The bottom line is that creativity makes you happier and most of us would welcome more happiness into our lives.

​Studies show that wellbeing boosts creativity, which makes sense. When you feel your best, you have the bandwidth to be a little "extra". The surprising part of these studies are that the reciprocal of this is also true. Creativity leads to greater wellbeing.

If you are waiting until you have more time or feel better to include creativity into your life, you're missing out. Adding even the tiniest dose of creativity into your everyday life will spark a creativity + wellbeing cycle that will eventually become virtually self-sustaining.

Want to learn how to add more creativity, fulfillment, wellbeing and joy into your life? I would love to help you get your creativity + wellbeing cycle rolling. Schedule a complimentary session with me using the button below and let's discuss your goals, challenges and the way forward.

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In the pursuit,

Betsy

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