Can creativity cultivate well-being?
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Have you heard of the wellness wheel? It’s essentially a pie chart divided into categories that support your well-being. It often includes “slices” such as:
social
mental
spiritual
emotional
physical
environmental
financial
You get to decide what slices are in your pie and how big or small you want them to be, depending on how much they impact your well-being. A helpful exercise is to periodically draw your wellness wheel or “pie” and think about how you feel you are doing in each area. You also might want to explore ways to boost those that feel a little underfed.
I have made creativity a slice of my pie, and it’s a pretty big one. If I’m not devoting time each week to thinking about, talking about, and doing creative work, I get cranky. It’s kind of embarrassing for me to admit this — given that I’ve been a writer for decades and a wellness coach for two years — but I didn’t add creativity to my wellness wheel until last year. I’d never thought of it as an essential part of me feeling happy, fulfilled, and thriving. But once I added that to my wheel and made sure I nurtured that part of me each week, I began to feel a deeper level of satisfaction in my life than I had in the past. I’ve also suddenly found myself connected with some wonderful other folks who love talking about creativity, and I started a podcast with one of them.
Turns out, it’s not just writers who benefit from taking time to be creative. A Drexel University pilot study found coloring, doodling, and free drawing activate the reward pathways of the brain, which can help improve mental health and creativity for lots of folks. This Inc.com article talks about the broad benefits as well.
How about you? Even if your 9-to-5 isn’t in a typical “creative” field, chances are, you might be someone who could benefit from adding a “creativity” slice to your wellness wheel. Sometimes it feels self-indulgent to take time for creative endeavors. But I’ve found when I devote regular time to it, I feel more inspired to exercise, eat well, engage at work, and connect with others. It makes me a better me, and that feels more like valuable personal development than self-indulgence.
Would you like to meet up with me and some other folks in a Creativity + Wellness session? I’m leading a group online on Jan. 20, 2024, from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Central on Zoom. The cost is $25. If this sparks your interest, click here to register.
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