I love this quote by Albert Einstein: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
When I Googled ‘creativity’ I found this definition, “the use of the imagination or original ideas; the ability to create.” But many of us have come to believe that creative expression is limited to activities such as painting, drawing, writing, designing, etc. The truth is creativity is not just about making art. Creativity is a whole way of being.
As Osho said, “To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” Creativity infuses life with depth and richness.
According to various studies, 75% of people in the world do not consider themselves to be creative. Most of them are in professions that are outside of traditional creative fields such as artists, designers and performers. But suppressing our creative impulses, can actually have adverse effects.
Author and speaker Brené Brown says, “Unused creativity is not benign–it metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, judgment, sorrow, shame. We are creative beings. We are by nature creative.”
Each and every one of us is born a creator with tremendous creative potential. We all possess rich and fertile imaginations that we can tap into to birth new and original ideas.
Here are 21 benefits of being creative:
1. Improves the plasticity of our brains by building new neural connections
2. Provides a portal to a deeper and sacred part of our being and is a direct expression of our spiritual essence
3. Helps to release old patterns and dysfunctional ways of doing things
4. Creativity allows you to express yourself
5. Promotes thinking outside the box
6. Reduces stress and anxiety
7. Allows you to enter your happy place and have fun
8. Gives you a sense of purpose
9. Leads to a sense of accomplishment and pride
10. Can link you to others with the same passion
11. Improves your ability to focus
12. Is a prerequisite to innovation
13. Encourages us to be life long learners
14. Inspires happiness and a desire to share that with others
15. Helps us acknowledge and celebrate our own uniqueness and diversity
16. Reconnects us with our ‘child like’ state
17. Is good for our emotions and well-being
18. Offers fun-filled experimentation
19. Boosts our immune system
20. Opens our minds to new possibilities
21. Gives us permission to take risks, try new things
Creativity is the route to being our authentic selves. As we create we begin to access our thoughts, feelings and beliefs. When we take the time and energy to develop our own ideas, we learn to understand, trust and respect our true selves, which in turn enables us to better express ourselves. You may be surprised at the resources, thoughts and ideas you’ll discover.
We are all creators to the core of our being and each of us is born with unique dispositions and special talents, which can only be shared with others through our creativity.
