March 5 Weekly Challenge: My Creative Side

themedalist

Theme: Greater Happiness
Challenge: My Creative Side

When you think of some of the many habits you could work on that will enable you to reach your health and fitness goals, regularly practicing your creative talents probably doesn’t come to mind.

But it really should. According to Dr. Cathy Malchiodi, “Making art may be as important to your health as balanced nutrition, regular exercise, or meditation” and numerous scientific studies back up this claim. Here are just some of the many wellness perks of creativity:

Health Benefits of Being Creative:

• Stress Reduction
• Reduction in depression and anxiety
• Increases and renews brain function
• Reduces risk of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline (Its like yoga for your brain!)
• Improves mood
• Improves immune system function

Yes, You’ve Got Talent

We all do. We all have innate abilities that we can use to create something that didn’t exist before. Whether it’s a visual art such as painting, drawing or quilting, or another artistic expression like writing, dancing, or playing a musical instrument or something else, practicing our creative talents connects us with what makes us special and unique. And it’s fun!

Cultivating Your Creativity Shifts the Focus from Consuming to Contributing

As James Clear put it,

“There are both physical and mental benefits from creating art, expressing yourself in a tangible way, and sharing something with the world. In our always–on, always–connected world of television, social media, and on–demand everything, it can be stupidly easy to spend your entire day consuming information and simply responding to all of the inputs that bombard your life.

Art offers an outlet and a release from all of that. Take a minute to ignore all of the incoming signals and create an outgoing one instead. Produce something. Express yourself in some way. As long as you contribute rather than consume, anything you do can be a work of art.”

A Few Ideas for Creative Pursuits

• Write a poem, or a letter, or an essay on something you care about
• Resume a knitting, sewing, crochet, or quilting project that you put aside
• Head to a flower shop and create your own floral arrangements
• Paint, redecorate, or rearrange a room in your house
• Cook something new
• Go dancing
• Write a letter to a friend or family member
• Learn a new song or musical instrument
• Go for a walk and take some photographs
• Hand make some birthday cards
• Paint something
• Draw in some adult coloring books.
• Keep a journal or scrapbook
• Refresh your wardrobe by getting creative with your clothes

This Week’s Challenge: Set aside at least 15 or 20 minutes several times this week for a creative activity. Don’t worry about how well you are doing it, just settle in, relax, and enjoy the creative process! And please tell us what you are working on!

Make it a great week!

............................................................................................................................................

Suggested Resources:

Make More Art: The Health Benefits of Creativity
https://jamesclear.com/make-more-art

5 Proven Ways Creativity Is Good for Your Health
https://verilymag.com/2016/01/mental-emotional-health-creativity-happiness

Creativity as a Wellness Practice: Along with Diet and Exercise, Make Creativity a Wellness Resolution
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201512/creativity-wellness-practice

...........................................................................................................................................

HGSmith0920

I love that this is our challenge for the week! I have been trying to form a habit of working on a story that I am in the middle of writing. I dont currently work and there is a significant amount of downtime for me here at home, but for some reason, I can't seem to write when I'm here. I am currently trying to find places where I can tap into my creative side. I've found that I can do it anywhere except inside my own home. I wrote one afternoon on my back deck when it was warmer out. This morning I wrote lounging on my Parents loveseat while I was waiting for my laundry to finish. Recently I spent some time at the library writing. I just got a new job, however, so I'm hoping that I won't just give up on my story altogether like I've done in the past.

themedalist

Let’s Move It Every Monday!

Move It Monday is now a regular challenge for our group! We’ll be kickstarting our week off in a terrific way with an energizing, oh-it-feels-so-good workout that will let us conquer the world, or at least our little part of it.

If you want to participate in this week’s MiM challenge, post your workout here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10637806/jan-29-weekly-challenge-move-it-mondays

PinkyPan1

This is an interesting challenge. I am look forward to fitting in some creative time each day.

nebslp

1) I’m busy working on organizing photos from previous trips. I plan to write a narrative to go along with the pictures to make them more meaningful and help me remember the little things about the trips. I’m really struggling with figuring out the best method but I’ve started now and I’m going to stick with it.
2) I will be embroidering blocks of my Snow Days quilt that will take me forever to finish! Every day at least 15 minutes.

themedalist

HGSmith0920 wrote: »

I love that this is our challenge for the week! I have been trying to form a habit of working on a story that I am in the middle of writing. I dont currently work and there is a significant amount of downtime for me here at home, but for some reason, I can't seem to write when I'm here. I am currently trying to find places where I can tap into my creative side. I've found that I can do it anywhere except inside my own home. I wrote one afternoon on my back deck when it was warmer out. This morning I wrote lounging on my Parents loveseat while I was waiting for my laundry to finish. Recently I spent some time at the library writing. I just got a new job, however, so I'm hoping that I won't just give up on my story altogether like I've done in the past.

It doesn’t surprise me that you are having challenges writing at home, @HGSmith0920. Our habits are triggered largely by cues from our environment and I’m sure your house is cueing you subtly to do a lot of other things rather than write. There’s just too many distractions. You could likely overcome this with time by finding a certain spot in your home that becomes your writing area. With enough time, your brain would likely get the message that “this is where we write”. But it may be easier just to find a place outside your home.

Congrats on your new job!

themedalist

PinkyPan1 wrote: »

This is an interesting challenge. I am look forward to fitting in some creative time each day.

Terrific! I was very surprised by all the health benefits of creativity. I mentioned this to my husband last night and he said, “Maybe that’s why Mom has stayed mentally sharp”. My 85-year-old MIL has been a lifelong quilter and has created some beautiful quilts. She devotes some of her free time to quilting each week and has for as long as I’ve known her. I’m sure it has helped her health in lots of ways and it wouldn’t surprise me that her mental acuity has benefited the most.

themedalist

nebslp wrote: »

1) I’m busy working on organizing photos from previous trips. I plan to write a narrative to go along with the pictures to make them more meaningful and help me remember the little things about the trips. I’m really struggling with figuring out the best method but I’ve started now and I’m going to stick with it.
2) I will be embroidering blocks of my Snow Days quilt that will take me forever to finish! Every day at least 15 minutes.

These are wonderful projects, @nebslp. Organizing the photos from your previous trips and adding narratives to them will certainly help you remember the experience better. And spending 15 minutes a day on your Snow Days quilt will definitely move it along!

themedalist

My favorite creative activity is playing the guitar. I started playing about three years ago when I was in my early 50s. I had always wanted to play the guitar and the more I learned about habits, specifically that the brain wants to take any sequence of steps that gets repeated and turn it into a habit, the more determined I was to teach myself to play. Guitar playing is nothing more than a bunch of habits.

I can’t begin to tell you the joy playing the guitar has brought to my life! I forget about all my stresses and I get lost in the music. It’s really another form of meditation for me. Although it’s not the same quality as a recording studio, I regularly record brief snippets of songs that I’m working on using my iPhone and then share them with family and friends. I’m also dabbling in writing my own songs.

My 30th wedding anniversary is coming up the end of April. I’ve decided to record a song for my husband and I’ve chosen John Legend’s, “All of me”. I’m going to modify the lyrics and that’s what I’ll be working on this week.

sandra8841

I love to cross stitch and at times I let me love of the craft go unattended going to make sure to take time to work on a project each day this week

MmamabearR

I have been meaning to get back to my crochet. I was making an afghan out of hexagons. I have 5, but I need 64 I think it takes me about 10 mins to do one, so I could potentially get about 7-10 done this week if I commit to the 15-20 mins a day. I will definitely try!

fatbambi2017

I do love to knit and have got a tunic 'on the go', but haven't done any for ages, this will be the week to start again, thank you Denise!

prgirl39mfp

I love this challenge. I will be looking into some soap making classes and painting. Also, I love my adult coloring book and 500 piece puzzles. I use to do tons of crafts when my kids were younger.

Butterf1y_Effect

I've been trying to make more of the spare minutes in my day/week by reading and writing modern haiku. : )

HGSmith0920

Went to the library and worked on my story. Really REALLY didn't want to but I had about an hour and a half to kill before my yoga class started and they are about a quarter of a mile away from each other. I grabbed my notebook and wrote for about an hour. Got a bunch of technical things down on paper and a whole bunch of ideas. Was kind of like a story-centric freewrite. It felt nice.

bcTRAI

Looks like there's a load of talented people on here! I'm close to done with my second big illness in the last month. This one has been easier, though. Almost every week I'm part of a group of ladies that gathers at each others homes. Originally we were strangers and it was just to quilt. Now we are a very big part of each others support and have expanded our horizons with field trips, classes, and retreats. My plans are to continue work on the borders of the pink and blue quilt in my profile pic. It is the first quilt I've made for my own bed and I'm excited to complete it.

themedalist

I’m really enjoying hearing about your creative projects!

themedalist

I thought this was just superb and I wanted to share it with you.

.................................................................................................

Don’t Just Be in the Audience

By Gregg Krech, author of The Art of Taking Action

Think about how often you are part of an audience. You read books that other people wrote. You watch movies that other people filmed. You watch your kids or grandkids play soccer. You watch sports or sitcoms. You read poems by Mary Oliver. Or listen to an audio book on mindfulness. Everything you’re reading, watching and listening to involved a creative process. A process that probably involved more than one person. You get to witness the outcome. You get to be in the audience. There’s nothing wrong with being in the audience. You can applaud. You can cheer. You may laugh. Or even learn something.

But being in the audience also means that you are basically… sitting. Watching. You are in a passive state. You are witnessing someone else’s creative energy. You are being exposed to someone else’s imagination and experience. What about your own imagination? What about your own creativity? Are you making time to express yourself—your experience, your ideas, your unborn creations?

Let’s be honest. It’s easier to be in the audience. It’s easier to read a book than to write one. It’s easier to watch basketball than to play. It’s easier to listen to music than to write a song. Well, why not just create something of your own? Why not just add something to the universe? Today. You might start with a 17 syllable haiku poem. Or maybe a drawing. Or maybe you can start that quilt that has been in your mental incubator for years. Or a song melody that keeps popping into your mind at each traffic light.

Don’t pretend that you have no creative capacity. You do. Everyone does. It’s just hard to take the first step when you aren’t sure what to do or how to do it. Don’t let that stop you. And whatever you do, don’t pretend that you have no time because there are dirty dishes in your sink. Leave the dirty dishes. Leave the dog’s hair on the carpet. Just take ten minutes and do something creative. Something that will wake up your neurons and throw them into a state of chaos. Your neurons need to be shaken up every once in a while. It’s good for them. And it’s good for you. And it’s good for the rest of the world.

prgirl39mfp

This is wonderful @themedalist ! Thanks so much for sharing

prgirl39mfp

bcTRAI wrote: »

Looks like there's a load of talented people on here! I'm close to done with my second big illness in the last month. This one has been easier, though. Almost every week I'm part of a group of ladies that gathers at each others homes. Originally we were strangers and it was just to quilt. Now we are a very big part of each others support and have expanded our horizons with field trips, classes, and retreats. My plans are to continue work on the borders of the pink and blue quilt in my profile pic. It is the first quilt I've made for my own bed and I'm excited to complete it.

Very inspiring. Thanks for sharing!

themedalist

prgirl39mfp wrote: »

This is wonderful @themedalist ! Thanks so much for sharing

Glad you enjoyed it, @prgirl39mfp. That’s what we are doing this week...we are shaking up some neurons!