The Power of Creativity
It’s Scientifically Proven: Being Creative Makes You Happier
Creativity is a work and life skill, but it is also a tool of well-being. Doing something creative repairs mood and creative activities contribute to our sense of personal growth, purpose, and meaning in life.
- Dr. Zorana Pringle, Yale Psychologist1
Time and time again, I’ve turned to creativity to help me heal. I previously posted about how I used the flower petals from bouquets sent to me while I was recovering from surgery into art.
I often suggest to my coaching clients that they should consider doing something creative or artistic to help them process their pain. Many hesitate, claiming they lack artistic talent. This misconception stems from two common myths: that creativity is limited to traditional arts like painting or music, and that only a gifted few possess the creative spark. In reality, creativity is a universal human trait, manifesting in countless forms; from problem-solving to cooking, from storytelling to gardening. It's not about creating masterpieces; it's about giving voice to your inner world, healing through self-expression, and rediscovering the joy in making something uniquely yours.
My most profound experience with the healing power of creativity was after my first marriage fell apart. I was devastated. Broken. Embarrassed. I had a vision in my head for how my future would look, and in an instant, the future I dreamt of turned into a static fuzz that I couldn’t see through.
I booked time with a therapist I had seen on and off throughout the years, but sitting on her couch heightened my sense of dread as she wanted to dig into my past to unearth “why” I found myself in this situation. I needed to find a new path forward. The past was the past and I couldn’t change it.
Searching for alternatives, I found a spiritual life coach, Penelope, and began seeing her regularly. Through our sessions, she guided me on a journey of self-discovery, helping me reconnect with the passions that once brought me joy. A big part of the formula was photography. It was my favorite class in high school, but a pursuit I had set aside through the intensity of college years and the demanding jobs that followed.
This all unfolded long before we carried smartphones with high resolution cameras in our pockets. I bought a small point and shoot and took it with me everywhere. I began to see the city and my surroundings in a way I had never really *seen* them before. I paid attention to the peeling paint on a building wall. I noticed graffiti on mailboxes and stickers on lampposts. I embarked on a “photo-a-day” project giving myself the assignment of taking one photo each day of something interesting or memorable. Day by day, week by week, month by month, I could look back and see that I was surrounded by beauty and positive moments even on days that I was feeling down. The project brought me a sense of gratitude for the little things.
I recently came across an article on Goop of all places (I know.. I know…), but Dr. Phil Stutz outlines an exercise I practice regularly and didn’t know was a “thing.” I often do it at night before I go to sleep. Tonight, I challenge you to try it. Run this through your head before you fall asleep and see what your dreams bring:
For about 30 seconds, think of things for which you’re grateful. Not just the big things; focus on everyday things that we often take for granted. “I am grateful I can see, I am grateful my children are healthy, I am grateful my car started today, I am grateful I had money to eat breakfast, I am grateful I have hot water.” Think of new things as much as possible—you’ll soon see that even on your worst day, there are an infinite number of things already happening that are positive.
The power of this exercise is that you are teaching your mind to work in a new way. You are forcing your mind into a state of highly creative motion that is analogous to the underlying motion of the universe itself.
As the grateful thoughts well up, become aware of the energy inside yourself that is creating them. You start to feel one with the universe and have a new confidence that you can control your mind. You have dissolved negative thoughts. And without realizing it, you have prepared yourself to pray. Not a specific form of prayer, and not necessarily connected to an organized religion. Independent of your personal spiritual beliefs and practices, you have led the mind beyond itself, making it a bridge into a higher place
At the end of my photo a day project, I created a book from the images: Day at a Time: A Year of Photos:
Years later, these images serve as portals to my past. A glance transports me back to the time and place of each photo and the emotions I was feeling. Suddenly, the mundane became interesting—like the accidental art of Starbucks stirrers, their haphazard arrangement a beautiful abstraction I would have previously overlooked.
Over the next month, see if you can carve out some time–even if it’s just fifteen minutes—to absorb yourself in something creative. Here are six ideas to get you started. The first two can be done in fifteen minutes or less:
Go to a spot you like. Set a timer and write down everything you hear/observe for at least five minutes. Reflect on what you’ve captured. Is there anything that inspires you? Does anything make you laugh?
Plant yourself somewhere peaceful—a museum, a garden, a park bench. Find something you’re drawn to and sketch it.
Choose a day and gather little things throughout it that you come across. A leaf, a receipt, the change from your morning coffee. Anything. That evening, collage the items into a daily diary or put them in a small box (an old jewelry box?) with a note about the day.
Thrift an old frame and turn it into something new.
Revisit a printed photo, a found photo, a postcard or a magazine page and paint on top of it incorporating your marks on top of the image.
Thumb through a cookbook—if you don’t have one, borrow one from your local library. Physical books offer a multisensory experience. The texture of paper, the smell of books (especially old ones), and the act of turning pages can create a more immersive and enjoyable reading experience. Choose a recipe and make a plan to make it in the coming week.
Below are examples of some of the above to further inspire you:
Suggestion #2: Sketching.
Suggestion #4: Upcycle a thrifted frame.
Carolyn Misterek does this beautifully.
Suggestion #5: Paint on top of imagery.
There are a few artists whose work inspires me.
Cathy Cone does really cool work painting on top of found tintype photographs. The story of why she was inspired to create this work is heartwarming.
My grandmother raised me. She was born with a large birthmark in the shape of a fish that covered her chin and neck. She referred to it as her purple stain. When I was young she would often tell me the story of how it happened. She told me her mother cut her finger cleaning fish when she was pregnant with her. Her mother put her finger up to her mouth immediately to stop the bleeding and according to my grandmother, “marked her.” Her mother died as a result of my grandmother’s birth several weeks later. Had she explained it any other way I would be a very different person today. I saw it as a beautiful pattern imbued with magic, not an imperfection. My grandmother suffered through stares and pointing fingers often as I was holding her hand. These kinds of folk stories and explanations were part of my childhood and nurtured my imagination. They held a transformative power as a kind of magical soul medicine.
I begin by scanning tintypes that I started collecting in the late seventies. The printed photograph then becomes a contemplative ground for painting. They are independent of each other physically, historically and on many other levels. The composition is essentially a duet where both mediums are of equal importance. It’s my way of re-touching history.
Han Cao is a fiber artist who embroiders over found photographs. In her artist statement she says:
“My artwork aims to create modern narratives for found photos – connecting the people of the past with those of the present.”
And of course, the work that’s closest to my heart, paintings atop magazine photographs by Michael De Feo (my husband).
I’d like my work to spark a conversation not only about the fashion world or appropriation, but also about how we can interact with images. I like to tamper with things and inject a sense of whimsy and play into my work and I hope that comes through.
Do any of these ideas inspire you? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Words of the Week:
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
—Michelangelo
Photo of the Week:
From my photo a day series in 2010. Someone had dropped a flower on a cobblestone street in the South Street Seaport and their loss was my Kodak moment.
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Source: https://www.zorana-ivcevic-pringle.com/about
Love these ideas! Thanks, Lia 💕
Lia, this is fabulous! I’m inspired! 💕💕💕