Five Reasons to Develop Your Creativity

Develop your creativity to get more out of life. Creativity is one of your most important attributes. Yet, most adults don’t invest sufficient time in cultivating their creativity.

develop creativity

Executives are always being urged to amplify their creative leadership skills. It seems that every CEO survey illustrates the need for leaders who possess the vital skills of nurturing creativity and innovation within teams.

In fact, some experts say that creativity is the #1 skill needed to survive in the 21st century.

Certainly, creativity is vital to solve our climate crisis and continue to innovate in light of the pandemic. So, there are huge global reasons why creativity is vital.

But, why is developing creativity important if you are not an executive, inventor, artist, or musician?

What does creativity do for you, personally?

As you navigate your own life challenges and strive to live your best life cultivating creativity will help you accomplish the following:

1. Get perspective so you can solve problems easily

2. Enjoy a happier, more amplified life

3. Boost confidence so you can tackle anything that comes your way

4. Express yourself so you can get clarity and fresh insights

5. Relieve stress and live a more meaningful, fulfilling, and longer life

Creativity gives you perspective.

Seeing the larger story in life helps put your experiences in perspective.

Whether it’s your personal life or a work project, getting mired in the details is easy. Cultivating your creativity opens your mind to look at the situation from a new altitude.

You can see the whole forest instead of only the trunk of one tree as you wander down a creative path. You connect ideas and see patterns, and that gives perspective.

Creativity is fun and fulfilling.

The author, Elizabeth Gilbert, says in her book, Big Magic:

“A creative life is an amplified life. A happier life, an expanded life. Bringing forth your best; feeling free to respond to what life brings us at the highest level is the most fulfilling kind of creativity.’

Gilbert points out that being creative doesn’t feel like work. I teach creativity courses to adults. Many have not painted since childhood. I love watching them cultivate the feeling of lightness, joy, and flow.

Creativity is a part of everyone’s consciousness. It gives you access to self-expression and opens you up to your intuition. When you access that lightened-up part of you, you realize that you always have access to this more amplified part of your personality.

Being creative gives you a glimpse into the source of your pure awareness.

Creativity enlivens your life.

When you are brimming with creativity, you wake up excited. Your mind is buzzing with ideas and soaking up inspiration from the world around you.

When your mindset is in this open, active place, you can naturally generate more new solutions to problems, making you more innovative.

You get benefits simply from being AROUND creativity. According to a study originally published in the American Journal of Public Health, the simple act of being in the presence of creativity can also do wonders for your frame of mind.

So admiring a poem or piece of art in a museum also enlivens your life with inspiration.

Creativity gives you confidence.

Part of being human is facing inevitable challenges.

Creative people see the larger story of life and find solutions more easily, which gives you the confidence to tackle anything that comes your way.

You see that you are capable as you overcome challenges, which gives you confidence that you can meet any situation with your unique brand of resilience and adaptability.

When you have successfully found one creative solution, you know you have the ability and acumen to try it again.

This confidence helps you be a role model to inspire others to cultivate their own creativity.

Creative processes provide self-expression and stress relief.

The tools and processes you will learn and practice in my programs help you express your thoughts and emotions in satisfying and releasing ways. This also relieves stress.

Sometimes when words are not enough to express my emotions, I paint. That way, I experience ways to process my emotions.

My Soul Artist Experience series of courses gives you a foundation of creative skills combined with learning to quiet your mind.

In my Creativity, Imagination, and Innovation. you learn tools and techniques for self-expression. Journaling, mind-mapping, stream of consciousness, automatic writing, and even doodling allow you to address the things on your mind.

Similarly, in my Thriving in Retirement course, you learn how cultivating creativity is a key factor in living more fully in the third chapter of life.

Freedom of expression is so important to your well-being.

When you express thoughts and emotions, you get clarity and fresh insights. Putting them out creatively makes them more real and solid, and then you see they can be tackled.

And whatever your form of expression, you bring unique, interesting, and beautiful things into the world.

Developing creativity enhances the quality of life.

A recent study in Scientific American Magazine shows that creativity exercises certain neural networks in your brain.

This keeps your mind more active and keeps you healthier, so the study shows you live longer than someone who doesn’t use these networks. You stay more engaged with creativity so that your quality of life is improved as you age.

To me, enhancing the quality of life is more important than simply living longer. Living with great mental well-being is an important goal.

So, to recap why creativity is important:

1. To get perspective so you can solve problems more quickly

2. Because it’s fun and fulfilling; a creative life is a happier, more amplified life

3. To boost confidence so you can tackle anything that comes your way

4. To express yourself so you can get clarity and fresh insights

5. To relieve stress and live a more meaningful, fulfilling, and longer life

‘The world always seems brighter when you have just made something.” Neil Gaiman

Developing Creativity is a form of play for adults.

Studies show that when you play, endorphins are released, brain functionality improves, and creativity is enlivened. Experimenting with new things can help give you a sense of adventure, wonder, and lightness. Play and creative self-expression help you stay connected to your own inner wisdom.

You can begin with a few easy steps.

Purchase an art journal and some fun pens, markers, crayons, or paints. Just start creating in your art journal.

Give your inner critic a rest. Don’t judge what you create and soon you will be creating more freely.

In my Creativity, Imagination, and Innovation course, we dive deeply into this. You learn ways to foster both of these processes in ways that allow for the best ideas to see the light of day.

Remember: Creativity isn’t reserved for certain people who are more inspired or unique; it’s in us all just waiting for a chance to emerge.