E65 - Improve your life - 10 ways to happiness with Creativity
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Well, hello, my creative friend. Welcome back to another episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington. I am so glad you're here. Today, we are going to talk about something that has the power. To transform your life, and you'll find it no surprise that I am talking about creativity again.
Now, I'm not talking about creative art that you see in museums or the creative music you hear on the radio or however you listen to music today. I'm talking about the creativity that lives inside you. And if you're thinking, Hey, I'm no artist, or I haven't been creative for years, those days are long gone, or Beth, I am so exhausted from being a professional artist or graphic designer or musician or copywriter.
I [00:01:00] don't think there's any creativity living happily inside me. My friend, I am talking right at you today and like Oprah giving away cars, I want you to know that you are creative and you are creative and you are creative. Please share the news.Everyone has creativity. You have creativity inside you right now. And here's why we are talking about this today. I'm afraid that not everyone is exploring their creativity in ways that fuel heart, mind, body, and soul. And that is the whole reason for the create today podcast today.
How can creativity make you happier and even healthier? So many of us do our creativity so we can finish a project to do something, [00:02:00] make money, give us a gift, decorate our house. But I want you to realize that the real true gift that creativity has for us is how it can make you happier and even healthier in heart, mind, body, and soul.
Now, you might be someone who doesn't realize that you're creative, or you might be someone who has forgotten that you enjoy creativity. Being creative, or you might be a creative who has not been able to relax and rest using your creativity Lately, so I want to ask you how are you nurturing your creative passions?
How are you allowing your creativity to shape your life for the better if you're listening right now? And you're still thinking wait who me am I actually creative? Or can I be creative or should I [00:03:00] be creative? Yeah, the answer is yes. Yes, you should. Creativity isn't just about painting. It's not about music or writing.
It is in the way you cook a meal, arrange flowers, design your home, tell a great story, or even how you solve problems at work or at home. So, you see, creativity is for everyone. and if you're someone whose creativity has been collecting dust on a shelf labeled someday, or a shelf labeled things I used to do when I was, and then fill in the blank here, younger, didn't have kids, was single, wasn't overloaded with a demanding job today, my friend is your day to dust off.
That creative passion and get ready to reignite your creativity. And if you're a creative professional whose work has smushed the [00:04:00] joy. Out of being creative because of deadlines and, demands and politics at an office or with a client. And it's left you feeling uninspired and burned out.
Today we're going to resuscitate your inspiration. Today we will discover how you find or connect with your creative passion. Let's talk about why creativity is so darn important for your overall happiness. And my friend, even for your health. Believe me when I say there are life changing benefits when creativity is part of your daily life.
And I know with all my heart that adding creativity to your life is life changing. And I don't say this lightly. I've seen it. I've lived it. And I've watched creativity transform [00:05:00] others in ways they never expected. Creativity
isn't just about making art. It's about making space for joy, for growth, for new ways of seeing the world and for seeing and understanding yourself when you allow creativity into your life, it doesn't just stay in the lines of a sketchbook or inside the stitches of a quilt. It spills over. To your entire life, bringing clarity to your thoughts, resilience to challenges you face and deeper connections to the people around you.
The benefits of creativity are real and they are powerful and they're backed by science. Here are just a few ways. that embracing creativity can truly bring benefits to your life. My friend creativity provides more joy and less stress.
Creative expression helps process [00:06:00] emotions, reduce anxiety, and produces a sense of calm.
Creativity provides a deeper connection to yourself, because when you create, you explore your thoughts, your emotions, and your imagination.
In a way, creativity allows you to get to know yourself and learn to be confident in your unique thoughts and your unique creative expression. Creativity provides more gratitude and calm in your life. When you slow down to create, you appreciate moments in a whole new way. And the best part, you don't have to be artsy to experience these benefits.
Creativity is everywhere in the way you arrange your home, the way you decorate cookies, the way you tell stories to your kids, the way you grow [00:07:00] tomatoes in your garden each summer, my friend, you've got this. Now, if you're thinking,
yes to all this creativity chatter, but you're wondering, how do I add creativity to my life? If you've never thought of yourself as creative. Or, you've set your creativity on that someday shelf, or that I used to be creative shelf.
Or you're just feeling exhausted from overusing your creativity. So let's talk about how to add, or invigorate, or rest up your creativity. And you know, I love a good list.
So let's get out a pen and a piece of paper and make a list of 10 ways to discover, dust off or re ignite your creativity. Whether you're looking for something brand new or [00:08:00] you're rekindling an old passion or you're resuscitating an exhausted creative practice, here are 10 ideas.
You can explore number one, think back to your childhood. What did you love to do as a kid? Did you build things? Did you do crafts? Did you make up stories? These early passions often hold clues to what still will spark joy in your life. So take a moment to explore all those fun things you did as a kid and think how could you re explore these creative memories either on your own or with a friend.
For example, I used to make homemade cards. I made patterns for stuffed animals. I made paper dolls and hey, you know, even just getting yourself a really cool coloring book and new markers or crayons. That can open up a creative passion that you have forgotten. [00:09:00] Number two, try something completely new.
So take a class in pottery, embroidery, creative writing, or digital art, just for fun. If it sounds interesting, be brave and just say yes to the exploration. Exploration all by itself has huge creative benefits. Number three. Go analog for a day. What do I mean by this? I mean, step away from the screens and social media completely and engage with hands on creativity like baking, taking photos of a specific thing during a walk, do a little painting, do a little gardening or work on a puzzle or get out that coloring book and just color.
Anything, my friend that keeps your hands and your mind busy together and takes you away from your phone, your tablet, your TV, my [00:10:00] friend, really try and refrain from taking a selfie that you'll post on social media to say that you were taking a screen break because that kind of defeats the purpose, right?
So do this. Just for you and do it for your creative health and nothing else. Number four, start a 30 day creative challenge. So this one's this one you really have to commit to. I want you to think about doing a daily doodle, doing a daily photography project, or writing a page in a journal every day. If you're wondering about the benefits of doodling and how you can make that a daily practice, take my workshop on doodle meditation.
It's going to show you how to make doodling a daily practice, and it shares all the science about how powerful the doodle can be for your brain, your happiness, and your [00:11:00] creativity. You'll find a link to it in today's show notes. Number five, get outside. Nature is a powerful muse. So try nature, photography, gardening, or even hiking to make your outdoor activities, truly creative. Don't go on a walk that you always go on. You know, if that route you always take choose a park or a route that is either new or one you haven't done in a while, if you don't have a lot of choices. And you kind of have to do the same thing again and again and again.
Start your route backwards. Start at the end and go towards the beginning. So you're seeing the scenery from an opposite view. Everything is going to look so new and fresh. It'll mix things up and it will feel more creative. Number six, collaborate. Consider joining a creative community. When you get with other [00:12:00] people, you can't help, but feel the ignition of new creative passion.
You might consider the Create Today membership. This is a place where you can meet new friends to swap ideas and attend workshops and masterminds and experiment with new creative challenges.
Number seven, cook or bake something artistic, experiment with new recipes, flavors, or decorate your edible creations in a way that feels fun and expressive. Enjoy the creative thrills of researching new trends, cultures, and then dive into the excitement of creating a new taste sensation for you and your family and your friends.
Number eight, Turn everyday moments into creative opportunities. This is where you're going to add small creative touches to your home, like handwritten notes to yourself or to your family or your partner. [00:13:00] It's fun to also have inspiring stickers that you could add to your water bottles, your notebooks, and laptops.
I love making my own stickers, and I also love doing small things like bringing fresh flowers into my kitchen, my studio, and my bedroom. It's the small things that can bring a really great boost to your creativity. Number nine, use music as
inspiration. Make a playlist that fuels your creativity or try writing lyrics or poetry for a song. Practice or learn to play an instrument. This could be a place where you couple music with taking a class. To learn something new. Number 10, make time for creative play. This is my most important piece of advice of all the 10 things.
This is your takeaway, my friend, no matter what you choose to do, no matter what you [00:14:00] explore or you experiment with, let go of expectations and simply play. Just have fun, whatever you choose.
I want you to take the time to just do. Without the pressure of judgment or the pressure of perfection or meeting a deadline or making that next great masterpiece, my friend, you're just practicing, you're just doing, and you're just having fun because you're enjoying what you're doing. So take a moment to review this list that we've just put together and
figure out what you'll do to either start a creative practice, dust off a creative practice, or let yourself revive your creativity by taking away the pressures of deadlines and perfection. I want you to just focus on the benefits [00:15:00] that creativity provides to your life.
In heart, mind, body, and soul. And once you found, dusted off or revived your creative passion, the next step is making it a regular, meaningful part of your life. In order to make the magic of creativity benefit your life, as we've discussed, you must incorporate a regular creative practice. as part of your life.
It needs to be something you want to do, something you look forward to, something that you lose track of time when you do it. And this isn't something that you will only do when you have a spare moment. It's not something you only do on special occasions or only when your to do list is complete or when no one else needs something from you.
To truly allow creativity to add that happiness and health to your life, it needs to be something [00:16:00] that you do regularly, my friend, like eating. Or breathing, because it is that important. So to make sure it becomes part of your days, weeks, months, and years to come, we need to realize how you can incorporate creativity as something you just do, like blinking your eyes or sleeping. To understand how to make this happen, we're going to focus on five key elements that today we're going to call the five P's of creative transformation. Number one is passion. And as we've already discussed, you need to choose something that excites you. This is something that pulls you in and keeps your mind engaged, even when you're not actively doing it. because you just love thinking and planning about
when and what you will do [00:17:00] next with your creative passion, Number two. Practice. Your passion must become a creative practice.
One that you do on a regular basis, preferably something that happens daily or weekly, at least. A daily practice can be something that is simple and can be completed in as little as 10 or 15 minutes. Something simple like journaling, doodling, that kind of thing.
A weekly passion is something that you'll dedicate an hour or two towards when you settle into this practice.
This could be a class that you take or the time you allow for like say rehearsing music or that you are dedicating towards a project that you're working on like quilting or painting or sculpting
I don't know, whatever it is, your choice. Now, my friend, you can have more than one creative practice.
You can have a daily passion that you spend five or 10 minutes a day on. And you could still [00:18:00] have a weekly passion that you scheduled time for so that you have an hour or two or three to really dive in and spend a lot of really valuable creative time to get in that creative flow that is so good for your heart, mind, body, and soul.
Number three is permission. Now, in order for your passion and your practice to become something that happens again and again, regularly for days and weeks and years, it is vital that you give yourself the permission to create, so schedule time for it and protect that time and allow yourself to take the time.
Reserve a date for creativity in your calendar like you would for an important meeting or a hair appointment or seing your dentist setting time in your calendar tells you this is important. [00:19:00] Number four is potential. Let me explain what I mean by potential. When you are allowing yourself to take time for your creative passion, I want you to think about.
What you're focusing on. And when you think about potential, potential means getting the most out of what can be experienced. So I want you to focus on the creative potential being the enjoyment that you are receiving from the experience rather than. What the outcome will be or what the end result will be.
So if your whole focus is making of the next great masterpiece or writing a New York bestseller, or even the outcome is knitting the most perfect gift for a friend, my friend, your focus will be on what you're producing. It'll be more about the perfection. It'll be more about reaching a date when [00:20:00] this is due and you won't.
Concentrate on the experience of just doing your creativity. And that's where the pure joy is, is in just the doing, just making stuff. In order to receive the true benefits of creativity, you want to enjoy the moments and find joy in just doing. Number five is. power And what do I mean by this? My friend, when creativity becomes a regular intentional part of your life, it fuels you with a gentle power that provides energy and confidence in your unique authenticity.
It will empower you with a sense of purpose for why. Your life has meaning this creative power will also help you resolve problems. It will help [00:21:00] you lessen anxiety that you have, and it will calm a racing mind all because you're incorporating the power. From these five P's for creative transformation, passion, practice, permission, potential, and power.
And remember the best part, you do not have to be an artiste to experience these benefits. Creativity is everywhere and it's here for everyone. It isn't reserved for a select few. It's here for you, even if you think, well, I'm no artist, or even if you used to be creative, but, or even if you're a professional creative who is feeling burned out because you've been burning your creative candle at both ends,
whether you're exploring a new creative [00:22:00] passion, dusting off an old one, or you simply need to exhale and remember that you can play with your creativity to rekindle creative joy. My friend, I want you to know this. Creativity is a gift given to you by whatever is your higher power,_ _And it is your responsibility to be thankful for this gift and to remember that you need to use it. Because when you do, when you use it, creativity can transform your life. So today I encourage you to create today, not someday, not tomorrow. My friend, create today and tomorrow and the next day. And the next, and if this episode resonated with you, I'd love to hear about the creative [00:23:00] passions that you have chosen to explore, share with me by leaving a comment.
Or come and meet me personally by becoming part of the Create Today community where we inspire each other every day, every step of the way. and you can become part of the Create Today community by just hopping on my email list
Sound interesting? Yeah. Come to the Create Today [email protected] where you can choose from getting on my email list to signing up for workshops or taking online courses.
Tutorials. And if you want to meet and mingle with other creatives inside a creative community, please come and join the Create Today membership. Or maybe first
you need some personalized attention to rediscover your creativity or learn more about [00:24:00] how you can grow a creative business and Stay healthy as a creative, consider chatting with me through a coaching consultation. All you need to do to discover all these things is visit www.bdicreate.today, and you'll find the perfect space for your creative passion to bloom and grow.
Whatever, or
wherever you are today with your creativity, and no matter where your creative passions may lead you, remember to stay creative, my friend.
Today is a great day to join the Create Today community and learn how to integrate creativity into your daily routine for a more fulfilling life—in heart, mind, body and soul!
Visit www.bdi-create.today for workshops, online courses, the Create-Today Membership, and personalized coaching!
00:00 Welcome to Create Today with Beth Buffington
00:11 Unleashing Your Inner Creativity
01:47 The Importance of Creativity for Happiness and Health
03:49 Reigniting Your Creative Passion
07:56 10 Ways to Discover or Reignite Your Creativity
15:07 Incorporating Creativity into Daily Life
16:25 The Five P's of Creative Transformation
22:52 Join the Create Today Community
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