Unleash Your creative genius and reduce your stress in the process
Creativity and Stress Reduction
Pictured below is a set of curtains I recently sewed for my office. Making the curtains took me to my internal happy place. I enjoyed every step of the process, from picking out the fabric, to viewing online tutorials, to measuring and cutting the fabric, to sewing the curtains and tiebacks, to finally hanging the curtains.
After wanting to learn to sew for quite some time as a fun way to engage more of my right brain (especially after seeing the fun and fabulous sewing creations of my mother-in-law’s and the enjoyment she got out of sewing), about a year and a half ago, I finally decided to treat myself to a sewing class. And I’m glad I did! Learning to sew has opened up a whole new world of excitement, enjoyment, and creativity in me!
Did you know that engaging in a creative activity reduces stress? Did you also know that reducing stress helps to increase creativity?
When we engage in a creative activity that we enjoy, we focus on the task at hand. When we focus this way, we’re not worrying about the future or feeling depressed about the past or anything else for that matter. Sound familiar? If you're thinking, "that sounds a lot like mindfulness," you're absolutely right!
When we become engrossed in a creative process, we're more likely to be productive. Creating something brings about a sense of accomplishment, which brings about positive feelings, which increases the likelihood that we will engage in more creativity. Doing something creative, whether it's writing, drawing, coloring, painting, making music, cooking, or sewing, sets off a positive feedback loop that brings about positive feelings, productivity, and more creativity, and reduces stress.
Try engaging in at least one creative activity that you enjoy per week and notice the difference it creates in you. How will you unleash your creative genius this week?