Creativity: Why It Matters and How to Nurture It

We are all born with the innate desire to express ourselves creatively!
Think about watching a child at play. Ordinary sticks transform into magical swords in the blink of an eye, the family cat becomes a wild tiger in the jungle, and household objects take on entirely new purposes.
This same vibrant creativity is still housed within each one of us, longing to be set free.

Why does creativity matter?

Here are five ways that taking the time for creativity will make a difference in your life:

1. Increase Happiness

Scientific studies have shown that being creative actually increases your satisfaction and happiness in life. Every crafter intuitively knows this. Spending an afternoon in the craft room always feels great!

2. Find Solutions

Creativity helps you find solutions to your problems. When you feel stuck, step outside of your box and approach things in a new way. Engaging in this creative process makes new connections and brings answers to problems in unexpected ways. When you feel stuck deciding how to make your layout really stand out, try letting your creative genius out of the box so you can approach the situation from a fresh angle.

3. Make Discoveries

Being creative is the catalyst for new inventions and discoveries. Think of all the latest inventions you enjoy—every one of them is the end result of someone (or many people) going through the creative process. Even self-discovery is a creative process that will greatly enhance your life. Get creative with the colors on your next project and you may just discover your all-time favorite combination!

4. Leave a Legacy

Your creative works of art will be a legacy for the next generation to cherish. Your passion and love for your life will flow from your artwork and into the heart of the viewer. What better way to say, “I love you!” than to exemplify an appreciation for life through beautiful memory keeping?

5. Have Fun

Best of all, the creative process is fun! Creativity allows your soul to express itself in exciting new ways, so get out your stash of paper and ink and get to work!

How do you nurture creativity?

One way to ignite your creative spark is to participate in creative challenges. They inspire you to approach your crafting from a new angle, which presents the kind of environment that will get your creativity gears moving. It’s exciting to experiment with new color combinations, use embellishments in unexpected ways, or scrapbook with a new theme you haven’t tried before.
Close To My Heart currently offers the ideal opportunity for this through our super fun weekly creative challenge! You can get details on each week’s challenge by going to the Close To My Heart corporate Facebook and Instagram pages. Find out what the week’s challenge is, then see what you can come up with!
But don’t stop there. Creating is only half the fun! Once you finish creating your artwork, post a picture on your Instagram feed and/or the Close To My Heart corporate Facebook page using the hashtag #jrlcreativechallenge. This will not only allow you to share your art with fellow Consultants, but will also enter you into the contest for the chance to win a prize! But prize or no prize, it’s always a blast to see what everyone comes up with.
If you want more details about the creative challenge, read Jeanette’s original invitation.