What are the benefits to being creative?

What are the benefits to being creative?

What are the benefits to being creative?

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” – Pablo Picasso

Who remembers creating finger and hand paintings, sticking and gluing, making marks with pencils and crayons when you were growing up? How much fun was that? Loads right?! So why is it that when we grow up we tend to move away from being as creative?

As a child you are often encouraged to be, act and think creatively but as you grow older we actually begin censor our creativity as we begin to conform to social referencing, often as a means of fitting in at school etc. 

However creative expression and thinking can lead to a whole heap of benefits. including:

Freedom & Risk Taking: There is no right or wrong way to be creative. When we create, it gives us the opportunity to engage with the world without judging ourselves. You don't have to be an expert. Being creative allows us to take risks, something we cant do on a day to day basis and it is mentally very rewarding.

Expression & Self Discovery: Creativity is the route to authenticity. As we create we begin to access our thoughts and feelings looking within to find something that is true. When we take the time and energy to develop our own ideas, we learn to understand, trust and respect ourselves. This can be a great confidence booster as you realise you have more to say than you thought.  

Confidence: When we create, we may start to value our work, even if it is not published, displayed or presented to the public. We can learn to trust our instincts and gain confidence from expressing them. This confidence carries over into decisions we make in other areas of life.

Relax & Unwind: Creativity is fun, and doing anything that brings joy reduces our stress levels and improves our quality of life. Taking time to work with your hands can transport you to a meditative place, away from the pressures of reality, where you can really unwind and de-stress.

Creative Thinking: There is no "how to" guide for being artist and while there are techniques to learn and explore there is no one style that fits all. Obstacles and challenges throughout life are inevitable. However, when we make creativity a habit, we continue to learn new, resourceful ways of solving problems in our artwork, and in life.

No matter how old we are creativity is a form of self-expression of feelings and experiences.

Leave a comment

* Required fields

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published