We spent a little time talking about why creativity is important in a previous blog but now I think it’s time we shift gears and see what the big deal is about self expression and creativity.
Today we are going to jump in and see exactly what pushes us and motivates us to be creative and what we get out of the experience. We might even be able to see how one can potentially foster those feelings and push our creativity into overdrive.
There is more than one scientifically proven reason for the argument that creativity is important. We’re going to look at a few of those reasons now and try to make sense of it.
On their website, Bemorewithless.com they say that one argument is that creativity predicts a longer life. They go on to quote “a Scientific American article, where “researchers found that only creativity—not intelligence or overall openness—decreased mortality risk.
One possible reason creativity is protective of health is because it draws on a variety of neural networks within the brain.” James Clear cites studies and research that demonstrate creating art decreases negative emotions, reduces stress and anxiety, and improves medical outcomes. Not only can being creative help you live longer, but it can improve your quality of health and life too.”
So now we read that creativity can give you a longer life. But there are several other advantages to being creative. Creativity can build your self-confidence. As an artist I think I am probably my worst critic. And most of my artist friends will agree with you that we all struggle with our self-esteem and self-confidence in our art. I don’t think there are many artists out there who would disagree with me. However when you become a master of your trade or your craft you can sit back and look at what you’ve done and feel Pride and your accomplishments.
Being vulnerable with your art and taking the risk of showing it to others can be extremely anxiety-provoking. I used to paint murals on people’s homes and their walls and I worried about every stroke and every color and every image I painted and whether or not it would be appreciated and loved like I viewed it.
But once you get over that Mind Block that your art isn’t good enough or whatever creative expression you’re attempting won’t appease other people. You can start freeing yourself from all of those negative emotions. You can literally just sit back and engage in the process and not have to think about others’ judgment of you and your work.
Another reason that creativity is important is it helps you solve problems. While studying for my licensing exam for the State of Texas I started doing Sudoku puzzles. I was obsessed with them. I had the app on my phone. I had a book up that just had puzzle upon puzzle of the puzzle.
And as I was studying for my licensing exam I realized that my deductive reasoning skills were becoming more fine-tuned. I realized towards the time I was going to take my exam that the Sudoku enhanced the creative side of my brain.
It literally allowed me to look at questions on my exam and be able to get rid of the erroneous answers and focus on the question and the result that the test was looking for. I’m not sure that was directly “creative” per se but I can definitely see how doing something like this helped enhance my deductive reasoning skills. And just in case you’re wondering I passed it with flying colors!
Another argument is that creativity is cathartic. I can definitely attest to that. Sometimes I will just take a pen and start scribbling and round loops and swirls all over a piece of paper without really even thinking about what I’m doing or consciously having any direction in the drying process.
When I’m done sometimes I’ll pick up different colors and fill in the different holes that I’ve drawn with different shapes or patterns that are just colors. But simply the act of the scribbling has given me peace and comfort. You can even do this on your computer.
Open up a drawing pattern and make some swirls and then fill them in with different colors. You will find it as you’re doing this it really doesn’t take a lot of brain power. Just motivation. This is simple and easy and it’s also creative. But it can also help you recharge, it can help you work out a problem in your head or I can just give you a break from the rest of your day.
There are so many reasonsWhen I have had a bad day or Something significantly painful has happened to me I find that diving into the different forms of art that I use can be very therapeutic.
Oftentimes people who are in a bad space will put on their favorite CD or a playlist that either Embraces them in the mood to their in or helps to shake them out of it. That is a form of creativity.
Sometimes when something has happened to me I will grab paint and brushes and a large canvas and just let go. One time I had had a significantly troubling couple of days and I grabbed a canvas and I painted images on it. However when I finished I decided that it wasn’t there and I didn’t need it anymore and I didn’t want others to see it so I painted something over the top of it. no one else saw it, no one else knew it was there except for me. And for some reason that gave me a lot of peace and comfort.
There are so many reasons That creativity is important in your life. Nothing has to be perfect, nothing has to be just like everybody else is. It just has to be okay for you. Looking at all the ways that creativity can enhance your brain power, your connectivity, your emotional capacity, I can’t see why you wouldn’t take a pen and pencil now and get started.
