Healthy Chicks

Are you a creative person? How do you create and harness your inner creativity?

Here’s the thing: we’re all creative souls; it just takes some internal work to express what it is you want to put out in the world.

Creativity is one of my favorite qualities that us women possess. The best part about it? It’s unique to each and every one of us, and no one can replicate that. You see, if you put you & I into a room and said “Go ahead, create,” the masterpiece would be completely different.  That right there is the beauty of creating, of harnessing your inner creativity.

Taking time to create is also a huge confidence booster! It helps us connect to ourselves & others in a deep yet playful way. It gives us a chance to be FREE, express ourselves, and escape our ego for a bit. Rather, we can get lost in our own creative world. It’s limitless! How juicy does that sound?

Here are 15 ways to add more creativity to your life right now — whether you fancy yourself a creative or not!

1. Cook a Scratch-made Meal: Hit the farmer’s markets, and buy whatever’s in season that tantalizes your tastebuds. Then made a homemade meal for yourself! Don’t over-complicate or over-strategize by trying to follow that 20-ingredient recipe you saw on The Cooking Channel. Just go with it, and let your culinary imagination run free!

2. Be at One with Nature: Get outside & explore the world! Sit under a tree on a blanket, gaze at the stars, go for a mind-clearing hike. When you are enjoying unplugged quiet time alone with nature, your creative juices flow!

3. Unleash Your Inner Kid: Remember as kids how open our minds were? Anything & everything was possible! Bring some of that youthful soul back by adding more playtime into your life. Play outside, build a fort, go all out with the sidewalk chalk, or make breakfast for dinner! When we allow ourselves the freedom to play, we remember to not take life so seriously all the time.

4. Re-Decorate Your Home: How can we expect our creativity to flow if our home is saying otherwise? Take the time to make your home a place that feels clean, open and playful to you. This could mean buying new colorful curtains to brighten up the room, painting your bedroom a different color, organizing your desk space, or dedicating a lil space in your home just for you to create. After all, they say our external environment can directly impact what’s going on inside. So make it count!

5. Get Crafty: Nothing screams creative quite like a DIY summer craft! I absolutely love these fun summer projects from CountryLiving and these 2 beautiful, easy crafts from Sarah Jenks & The Dabblist (I think I need the glittery feather wall hanging in my home ASAP). If you want to keep it simple, just purchase some art materials from your local craft store, and see what happens!

6. Journal It Out: Even if you just write for 10 or 20 minutes a day, journaling is a powerful way to unlock your deepest desires, whilst unleashing your creative juices. When you spend time alone with paper and a pen, it’s incredible what your mind can come up with. And no, you don’t need to be a “good writer.”

7. Plan a Surprise Date for Your Sweetie or Your Gals: Take planning into your own hands, and craft a surprise getaway for your sweetie or your girls! It can be as simple as a summer supper in the park or, if the time allots, a serene weekend retreat. Just keep it a surprise! 😉

8. Shake It Out: Lately, I’ve been in the mood for shakin’ my booty and dancing…yes even in the living room while home alone! Aside from being a surefire mood-booster, who knew dancing can also kick your creative powers up a notch? Move your body! Go ahead…do it.

9. Finish What You Started: Is there a creative project of yours that you continuously keep putting on the back burner? Take it out, dust it off, and get working on it. Even if you spend just 5 minutes a day on it, that alone will help you feel more creative in more ways than you can count.

10. Sign up for a Workshop: Enroll in a local workshop you’ve had your eye in, like photography, pottery or writing. I was lucky enough to be invited to attend this 5-day meditation course “The Happiness Program” which starts this week, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to attend. Ask yourself what lights up your soul, and do more of that.

11. Spend Time Alone: As much as surrounding ourselves with other fabulous women works wonders on our creative energy, it’s also important to reserve some of that for ourselves. Spend time alone with your thoughts to focus, re-energize and get clear.

12. Sing: Sing…out loud, in the shower, in the car! Who cares if you can’t keep a tune or your voice squeaks on high notes? Just sing.

13. Change Up Your Look: Do you need a mini makeover? If you always straighten your hair, try letting it run wild and curly! Add a pop of color to your normal look with a fuchsia lipstick. Buy yourself some new clothes that make you feel absolutely fabulous. How we feel about ourselves goes a long way in our confidence, and yup, our creative mindset!

14. Get Behind the Lens: You don’t need to be an expert to be a photographer. Get behind the lens, and capture the beautiful moments in your life — laughter, love, joy, peace. Cherish the simple things.

15. Play with Color: Colors can be extremely therapeutic and freeing for our mind! Test your hand at painting either by yourself or with a social community like Paint Nite, or buy yourself a Mandala coloring book, and color away.

What are your favorite ways to be creative? How do you express yourself creatively?