Creativity is the Foundation for Change

I recently taught a day-long workshop on self-care for women. It was a great day with lots of information, sharing, “aha” moments and practice.

The day ended with a creativity exercise that tied together all the lessons and activities that came before. With the exception of one artist in the room, all the other women said, “but I’m not creative.”

I told them they were wrong (a very not life coachy thing to say) and, after they completed this fun but useful exercise, they could never again say they weren’t creative.

Their creations blew me away. No two were even remotely alike and all were stunning.

As we closed out the day, I kept hearing “I need to be more creative.” They “got” it.

Do you want to change something in your life?

Better job? New career? Smoother relationships?

Get creative.

We are born creative. As a child, we colored, drew, built castles out of blocks, pretended to be our favorite characters, used sticks as magic wands, sang songs, wrote stories, and danced to our favorite music.

We created out of sheer pleasure. Process was as important to us as outcome.

And the more we created, the more ideas we generated. There was no end.  

What was true then is still true for us 30, 40 or 50 years later.

Creating our ideal life requires us to think “outside the box.” That’s where our path to change lies.

Visit a museum, buy a fun coloring book, dig out those old knitting needles, doodle, blast your favorite music and dance away, take photos of springtime flowers blooming, add sparkle to your nail polish...

Do it for the fun and freedom, and watch how your thinking and problem-solving abilities expand.

There are no magic wands to change our lives. Unless, of course, you find that very special stick outdoors.