Rediscovering Yourself: Simple Creative Practices for Busy Women

Bring creative joy into your day (without adding anything else to your plate).

Creativity is essential for women to reconnect with themselves and express who they are in a world that often tells them to be quiet and helpful. This episode explores simple ways to incorporate creativity into daily life without adding pressure, helping regulate your nervous system and rediscover your voice.

Chapters

• 0:00 Soul Whispers: Reconnecting with Creativity
• 1:29 The Morning Spark: Five-Minute Creativity
• 2:52 Dressing Like a Mood Ring
• 4:23 Creating Your Personal Soundtrack
• 5:51 Beautifying Tiny Spaces
• 6:52 Creative Endings and Nervous System Relief

Transcript

Emily Feist: 0:00

Is your soul whispering "Hey, remember me. But between the laundry and the emails and the inner monologue about whether or not your family is getting enough magnesium, is it hard to hear? This episode is for the woman who loved journaling, doodling, dancing in the kitchen, but somewhere between the meal planning and mind managing everyone else, she stopped. We're bringing that back, that creative spark, in ways that don't require a whole new Pinterest board or even an extra hour in your day, just a little softness, a little beauty and a whole lot of nervous system relief. Welcome to. It Starts at Vegas the podcast where your stress levels go down and your self-awareness goes up.

Emily Feist: 0:47

I'm Emily and I am a neuromuscular massage therapist and a big believer that creativity is a key to knowing who you are. It is essential, especially for women. Here's what psychology knows and what your gut probably feels. When women disconnect from creativity, they often disconnect from themselves, and adding creativity is not just a I need a new hobby kind of way. It's in a I'm not sure where I went, kind of way. So today we're getting back to that creative joy in a way that complements your nervous system, not complicating your calendar. Creativity helps women express who they are, regulate their nervous system and rediscover their own voice in a world that often tells them to be quiet, be helpful and agreeable. But when you create something, there are no mistakes. Sure, it might not be perfection, but it's allowing you to find yourself again and that expression allows you to wake up to yourself. And the cool thing is it doesn't have to take a lot of time. You don't need to carve out a whole hour every single day to express yourself in a creative way.

Emily Feist: 2:07

Let's talk about a few creative ways for you to express yourself without adding pressure to your mental load. The first one I'd like to talk about we're going to call the morning spark. So this would just take about five minutes just five minutes to either journal one sentence, doodle a little scribble or describe your mood in like a weather report. For example, you might write down foggy, with a 40% chance of need for chocolate by 3pm today. So it's just playful and it's about reconnecting to who. You are not fixing anything. It's exploring yourself with honesty, with a splash of humor to throw in that creative level.

Emily Feist: 2:52

The second way to throw in some creativity is to get dressed like a mood ring. Instead of asking does this match, try thinking is this how I want to feel today. So pick some color or a texture that matches what you feel like. Throw in some intention, maybe toss in a fun scarf or some fun earrings. Even if you're just staying at home, you can add that little bit of intentional creativity to what you're wearing. And remember, our style does say how we feel. So if you're having a really frumpy day, adding a colorful necklace or some fun earrings just might be a great way for you to reinforce a positive attitude and add that creativity to what you are wearing, because style is art and you're allowed to feel like a canvas. You can make yourself look however you choose and it'll compliment who you are. I am a big fan of the British baking show and one of the judges on that show does a great job of this. If you ever watch a show and her name is Prue, she's always dressed in colorful outfits and this usually big jewelry, and she's just always happy and you can tell she enjoys what she's wearing. You can tell that it makes her feel good and she creates her own sense of style that matches who she is.

Emily Feist: 4:23

This next tip is something that I really do implement every day, and that is creating a personal soundtrack. Music is amazing because it's a portable reset button. It can feel us to our core. It can express ways that we don't always have words for. So you just need to create some playlists that will match your energy or help shift it. If you need it to kind of like readjust for your day, you could have one for grounding, one for motivation or one for those. Why is a person chewing so loud moments when you just know you're really aware of all of your surroundings a little too heightened? So you need to throw in some music to make you feel like your happy self again, to let the little things just go by easier. So have a variety of go-to songs for yourself. I have fun ones that I have for my kids. I've got a song playlist for when I'm happy, when I'm angry, I even have one for songs to get me in the mood for when I work on projects, and all of those things are just when they're already created for you in advance. When you have a mood that you either want to reinforce or shift from, you have your go-to playlist.

Emily Feist: 5:45

The fourth tip I'd like to talk about is beautifying one tiny space. There's no need to redecorate your whole house. Just pick a shelf or a windowsill or even a corner on your counter and add something lovely. Add something that just makes you smile. It could be a candle or a rock. You found that little statue that you love, that everybody else thinks is just a little weird, but you like it and every time you look at it you can have that sense of that just makes me a little happier throughout the day. For me. I really like flowers. I love flowers. I think they're just beautiful. I feel them, just shift the room and, believe it or not, sometimes I even throw fresh flowers in my bathroom. I don't know why, it's just when I get ready for my day and I can see them. It just makes me happy and it starts out in a really great way that I personally enjoy.

Emily Feist: 6:48

The last one I'm going to talk about is ending your day in a creative way. So before bed, do one small thing that closes your day and mind. It could be taking a picture of something beautiful or jotting down a sentence of gratitude, or swaying to a song. None of it is for results. This is simply for joy. This is for you to end your day in a good, positive way that makes you feel warm inside, it's for nobody else but yourself. Side note brushing your teeth with vigor doesn't count as movement practice. If you find out that you are brushing your teeth really, really hard because a day was really really stressful, like I've said in many other episodes, end with gargling some mouthwash salt water. Other episodes and with gargling some mouthwash salt water one of those things because gargling will help relax your vagus nerve and it will set you up in a positive way for a great night's sleep.

Emily Feist: 7:49

These micro moments of creativity work. They work because they interrupt our stress patterns. When you have a stressful day or moments that you know are going to be coming let's say it's a meeting or at three o'clock every day, your mood just kind of tanks because you're wanting a nap. All of these things can help shift your day from stress or an anxious moment into a creative one that you get to enjoy. They soften perfectionism, they make room in your life that remind you of yourself and over time they remind your nervous system that you are safe, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually also.

Emily Feist: 8:34

So for the healer part of me, it's like nervous system hygiene. I need to do it every day to keep my nervous system calm and clean. For the artist in me, it would say this isn't about adding extra, it's not about forcing something on myself. It's allowing myself to see me again. It's bringing out who I am and who you are. So this week I'm going to take time to create a moment of beauty throughout my day, even if it's just rearranging the spice rack so it looks kind of nice and cute. I know you can do something small and easy too, because, remember, we're not forcing healing, we're allowing it to happen. Less forcing, more becoming. Thank you for spending part of your day with me. May your day be gentle, your tea hot and your nervous system be steady and soothed.