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Why you should do something creative today.

We know in our gut don't we?

We know innately that when we are being creative in our daily lives we feel better. But that doesn't necessarily stop us choosing that Netflix binge over cracking out our pen and sketchbook does it? It doesn't make it any easier to chose the thing that makes you better in the long term over that short term rush.

I learnt this the long and hard way. I spent years neglecting my creative practices, which resulted in feeling worse and worse about myself. 

And any spark of an idea was shot down by those usual nasty internal voices. Voices  I’m sure you might be familiar with   - "it's a waste of time"  or "it's too late" etc etc. 

Then you  don’t even start. I was blocked but knew there must be a way out.

But let's be real those voices never go away and nothing is going to change if you change nothing.

And with studies showing that if you do something creative now not only are you going to feel better today but that feel-good dopamine  will last until tomorrow and beyond.

But other than that lovely rush  there are many other reasons to take up a new or old creative pursuit .

And despite what some of society - or that nasty school teacher - might have you believe every body is creative. It is an innately human trait. Think back to when you were a kid - all the games you played using your imagination? You just need to fire that part of your brain back up.

It doesn't have to be "art" as you might imagine - rather It can be anything from cooking a new recipe to journaling to painting to choreographing a waltz.

That's the best bit - you get to choose.

Here are some reasons you should make 15 mins for that today:

i. Creating as daily practice (no matter what it is from knitting to baking to writing) will increase resilience. Then with enough days under your belt  the power of the "streak" starts to come into play. This momentum really helps fight against those internal voices . We could write all day about this and many people have covered it in detail.  The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a clear introduction on how to tackle those internal negative voices - your resistance.

ii. It is thought to improve depression and feelings of isolation . This is particularly true of course if you sign up for that local life drawing class but even if your endeavour isn’t social you will still reap some of those benefits

iii. It allows you to process problems in a different way and possibly even reduce stress. By doing something that engages your mind ( and your hands!) in a creative way can free up the analytical side of the brain to get clarity on other problems that may have arisen throughout your day. A bit like those lightbulb moments you get in the shower!

iv. Creativity builds self esteem and confidence by developing new skills and challenging yourself.

v. It isn't spending time mindlessly scrolling or staring at the television - if we all create rather than consume a little bit more each day then we are onto a winner.

So if like me you feel a pull towards doing something more with your day to enhance your well being then drop your email here and I will send you a week of creative ideas to your inbox. Next week I will look at how we can put this all into practice.