The Recipe for Wellbeing- Part 4
Get down with your creative self- It's good for you! The 4th part of our recipe for wellbeing is a generous dollop of creativity in your life. Linked with the general concept of 'freedom', achieving creativity in your life is all about having some flair, some free thinking, and some scope to try something new. When we talk about 'creativity' it's not limited to being good at 'art' , but being creative in many different aspects of your life.
You may not be the most talented 'artist', but are you creative musically? Perhaps you have a flair for adding new 'wow' to recipes, or decorating your home, or choosing exciting and original things to do with your kids. Are you a creative writer, singer, crafter, fashionista? Creativity is far reaching and gives us an outlet for our originality, and helps us to show the world who we are. Without creativity our lives would be quite dull.
Creativity is a fantastic coping method for anxiety and depression, giving your exhausted mind a break from all it's woes and focusing instead on something much more inspiring. I saw some fantastic creativity from prisoners in prison, and most of it wasn't creative ways of hiding contraband! Making things out of matchsticks, producing cards to send to loved ones, paintings and drawings and writing and poetry. It was endless, and impossible not to be inspired. The charity I worked for that supports people with addiction hosted weekly art groups for service users, highlighting the therapeutic benefits of releasing creativity.
Imagine yourself surrounded by inspiration; art, music, projects, food, colour, texture, beauty. It's a good place to be huh?
So how could you get more creativity in your life? Here's a few tips, but the world's your oyster!
Project 365- Have you got a mobile phone? Does it have a camera on it? You're good to go on this one! Take a picture a day for a year, or a month, or however long you want. There are some fantastic free apps to help you play around the quality of your pictures, and some cheap ways of getting them printed to adorn a space on a wall in your home. It's quite addictive!
Pinterest- If you aren't on Pinterest you're missing out on some seriously hard hitting inspiration from every corner of the world. Beautiful images, things to make at home, recipes, inspirational quotes, if it's not on pinterest it doesn't exist. You can find us on pinterest too! Click here
Adult Colouring- *groan*, how lame does that sound? There's no other way to dress this up, but it's actually a fantastic way of getting some creativity in your day, and I love it (as do millions of others as the choice in adult colouring books is overwhelming). No matter how much time you have in your day to dedicate to creativity, a colouring book can fill it. Great for those of us who think they're pretty crap at all things 'art'.
Sing- If music is more up your street, then sing your guts out! Or learn to play an instrument! Write songs, or raps, or tunes, and let yourself go once in a while. Discovering new music can be just as inspiring as writing your own, so break out of your comfort zone and start finding some new favourites. Music is so accessible these days, with every song at your fingertips if you use a format like Spotify or Deezer. Dedicate some time to switch everything off and just listen to music.
Join a group- If you've got a little more expendible income than me, search out some creative groups or classes in your area. Dancing, pottery, life drawing, battle renactment (oh yes!!), you name it....the list is endless. A great way of meeting new people and letting those creative juices flow.
Don't ignore this part of your life if you want to improve your wellbeing. It's a beautiful necessity in a world filled with stress and anxiety.
Get in touch and let us know how you like to get your creativity quota in your life, and we could make a feature on it!
