Bring Back your Creative Side

I have read multiples times that we all have a creative side. Sadly, the system does a great job taking it away from us. We end up growing up to lack that important part of us. Most of us attended a school, where we had to shut up and listen to some information in a unilateral way. Then we go to work, we start facing the real life obligations which sometimes seem to be endless.

That makes us feel like we can’t afford any “Happy hour” time, which can include drawing, painting, writing or building castles with Poker cards. Sometimes it gets to the point where we maight even feel guilty if we stop for a few hours and enjoy our hobbies.

Do something nice yet useless.

That creative side is a very important part of us that helps us to be happy and mentally healthy. It helps us solve problems, get over bad moments in different ways and improve our quality life overall. I have felt uninspired lately. I got a bunch of obligations all of a sudden, then I procrastinated their fulfilment and they have now been accumulating until today.
So, I was feeling busy all the time, nevertheless, I just wasn’t being productive. Some of the tasks were just an email and a 20 minute phone call and I still would delay it. I was accumulating my “to do” tasks one on top of another until I couldn’t see anything else than a big mountain of responsibilities and stress. That made me feel blocked, lacking inspirations, creativity and ideas.

I believe this can happen to anyone, especially to the procrastinators.

But, how do you go back to a relaxed mindset? The first one and the most popular is to listen to music. This is a great method but, even though it helps us feel better, I am not sure it helps me be more creative.
Another solution I often listen is to walk in nature. If you are lucky enough to live in a place nearby forest or garden, you may have the possibility to go out and explore the trees, flowers, do some yoga or enjoy a walk under the rain.
In my experience, you probably need to clear up your mind first. If our mind is covered by responsibilities and things to do and we don’t fulfil them because we procrastinate, there won’t be space available for creativity and inspiration.

Finish all the tasks in your “to do” list that you can do today. I am talking about the ones that you can do today, the ones that just take a few minutes or an hour but for some reason, they have been in your or diary for a few days now. If you are feeling uninspired or stressed, finish everything you can: go clean your car, send an email to that person, buy a birthday card for your long distance relative and buy the bloody swimsuit you need to go on holidays next month.

As soon as you finish everything you have to do, you will feel more relaxed and your mind will enjoy an open sight again, full of freedom and new ideas. The truth is that, the more we have to do, the more anxious we feel. It took me a while to realise this was the main reason for my lack of motivation. It’s funny how the less important tasks (buying the birthday card) can go unnoticed yet our unconscious holds them and creates us passive discomfort.

Clean the desktop in your mind. Then, open the book and read

If you have a table full of junk, pencil cases and books, then every time you try to open your book and draw something, you will feel at unease and your motivation will naturally go down.

When you have finished, find your favourite way to relax. Maybe you need a shower or a few minutes of yoga. Go run, swim or meditate.
One of my favourite activities to relax was to get a creative colouring book. There was nothing more simple and nicer than opening my painting crayons case and enjoy myself filling each of the spaces that make up the sketch.

The best way to find a solution to a problem in your mind is to find the cause of the problem because that’s the only way we can fix it. Maybe it’s worth stopping for a few minutes, get a pen and a paper and start dissecting your brain until the reasons why you feel that way come out. If you can do something about it, then do it, but be always nice to yourself. Try to be positive and stop your brain from going to the “dark side”.

It’s ok to feel stressed, it’s ok to have a bad week and be unproductive. It’s ok to have a brownie for lunch and 3 coffees one day because you feel down on energy (don’t do it often, though). To know when to stop is as important as giving yourself the break you deserve.