The Happier You: Empowering Your Journey to a Joyful and Fulfilling Life

Rediscovering Joy: Why Creativity and Play Matter (Part 1-Rerun) EP#111

• Bona Normandeau • Season 4 • Episode 21

Share episode

Host: Bona Normandeau
Episode Title: " Rediscovering Joy: Why Creativity and Play Matter (Part 1)"
Podcast Website: The Happier You

Episode Summary:

Welcome to the Happier You Podcast! In this week's episode, I delve into the transformative power of creativity and play. This is the first part of a two-part series exploring how these elements can rejuvenate our lives. Do you feel uninspired or stuck? Are you feeling claustrophobic in your life or burdened by your current situation? If there's a lack of fun in your life, this episode is for you!

In my research, I discovered that creativity and play are essential, not just frivolous pursuits. Drawing on insights from experts like Stuart Brown and Brené Brown, I look at why we need to embrace these elements more fully. Creativity and play can overlap, but they're not the same for everyone, and that's what makes this exploration so fascinating.

In this episode, we focus on creativity, starting with the concept of cultivating creativity and letting go of comparison.
After reading "The Gifts Of Imperfection" by Brené Brown, I realized I have art scars from childhood.  In this episode I share the joy of rediscovering creative expression and I share how creativity isn't about being inherently talented but about enjoying the process and exploring new ways to express yourself.

I also touch on the benefits of making art a habit, from reducing stress and anxiety to enhancing problem-solving skills. Whether it's through finger painting, cooking, knitting, or scrapbooking, I am encouraging you to find your own creative outlets and incorporate them into your daily life.

Key Takeaways:

  • Creativity & Play: Essential for well-being, not just for the "talented."
  • Overcoming Art Scars: Letting go of comparison and embracing the creative process.
  • Mental & Emotional Benefits: Creativity reduces stress, anxiety, and enhances problem-solving abilities.
  • Practical Tips: Try new creative activities, from cooking to painting, and don't worry about the outcome—focus on the process.

Resources Mentioned:

Challenge of the Week:

This week, explore different creative processes or activities that you can incorporate into your life. Don't worry about being perfect—focus on what brings you joy!

Subscribe & Connect:

  • For more inspiration, sign up for My Happy Notes, my weekly newsletter to keep your happiness top-of mind and get the podcast delivered straight to your inbox!

Quote of the Episode:
"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." — Maya Angelou

Rediscovering Joy: Why Creativity and Play Matter (Part 1-Rerun) EP#111

 

Hey Happy People, welcome back to our summer rerun series.  Today’s episode is a rerun of episode 7, part 1 of a 2 part series on creativity and play.  When I started the podcast I was really trying to figure out how to get to know myself, learn to love myself and ultimately find my happier.

Brené Brown’s book, “The gifts of imperfection”  was a HUGE influence for me. In this book she talks about the 10 guideposts for wholehearted living.  I took these guideposts very seriously and started digging deeper to figure out how I could use them to find my happier and enhance my life.

In prepping this episode I realized I have let some of my creative endeavors slip in my life.  Remember, happiness is not something that just happens to you…it is mindsets, habits and choices we make daily.  I know I needed the reminder of the power of creativity in my life.  I hope hearing this episode reminds you of ways you like to be creative and inspires you to add more of it into your life.

I hope you enjoy the episode.  Remember, it was first published in May of 2020 when we were all stuck at home and navigating through the dark days of COVID, but all the take-aways are still true today.

This week we're talking about the transformative power of creativity and play. This is going to be a two part series because once I started really getting into the research and the information, I figured out that it's got to be two parts.  This week, my questions for you are, Do you feel uninspired and stuck? Are you starting to feel claustrophobic in your home? Is your current situation weighing you down? Is there a lack of fun in your life? All of these things come up for me when I think about creativity and play, and after doing all the research for this podcast, I realized that we need more creativity and play in our lives. And I know that a lot of us think it's frivolous, I don't have time for it, and it seems like it. Something that people who have time, they can do that, but not necessarily something that you should be putting in your life. And what I've discovered through the research is we actually need more of both in our lives. So they can overlap, you know, creativity can be play, but not necessarily for everybody. And this is what I find fascinating. So some of the resources that I used for delving more into this, um, Stuart Brown, Greg McKeown, Brené Brown, and a podcast on the NPR network called Life Kit. And I'll put all the references to those on the resources page of thehappieryou.net and you can follow any of the links, watch any of the YouTube videos, all great stuff. This week we're going to start with creativity and I really like the way Brené Brown put it. She basically says cultivating creativity and letting go of comparison, and I think both parts of that are important, so cultivating creativity and letting go of comparison, and she really talks about art scars, and she talks about art scars happening for many, many of us, basically those of us that don't have a creativity. inherent arts talent. And when we're little and in kindergarten, it's okay to, you know, she uses the example of her son with a four headed blue polka dot horse or something like that. And he's praised for it in kindergarten. But by the time you get to about grade four or five, if you aren't, you know, Talented in artistic abilities, people start to judge you and compare when true artistic talent starts to come out and somebody can draw an animal that actually looks like an animal as opposed to, you know, me where there's stick legs, round body, sausage head, that kind of stuff. When I listened to that in her book, I realized that that actually happened to me and I still to this day jokingly say, well, it's not my fault, I failed art in grade eight. And. I was judged by an art teacher, and art is absolutely not my strength at all. And then I realized it actually happened to my son, and like she said, in about grade four or five, and it was one of those grades, he was in an after school art program, and exactly that, he was judged by some other kids, they snickered, and the art teacher didn't defend him, she just sort of snickered as well. Instead of saying, art is personal, art is creativity, you know, she kind of laughed. The really cool thing is, uh, in grade six, the art teacher at my son's middle school actually made a connection with him and they always put their art up on the walls and showed the different projects that they were doing. And I think Alex got really interested in it and he really just struck up a conversation and a relationship with this teacher. And then the next year when he was allowed to take art without dropping any other classes, he jumped all over it. And my husband and I got to meet this art teacher and all I can say is this woman is amazing. cultivates creativity and she rewards and praises the students on the creative process as opposed to the final product. She doesn't care what it looks like at the end. She's just encouraging and teaching and maybe making suggestions of how you want to, you know, enhance what you're making, but she absolutely praises what they're making. So I think this is my little shout out to Miss Brown Owl, Alex's art teacher, because she's doing it right. And since this has all come up, I have definitely started paying more attention to adding creativity into my life. And, you know, just the other day, you know, we're stuck at home, it's COVID 19, and my son gets a science project that, if they were at school, they would have created something with Twizzlers and gumballs and toothpicks. And, you know, he was totally bummed out because he had to type out what he would do. You know, and, And that's all the kids are doing right now is in front of computers, reading and typing and listening and watching and, you know, no moving around, no creativity. Um, and so. I jumped all over this. I'm in the middle of all this research. So I'm like, okay, well, let's figure out what we've got that can be used instead of twizzlers and gumdrop. Because the funny thing was, is he asked me, mom, do you have any twizzlers in the house? And I laughed. I said, honey, if we had twizzlers in the house, they would have been gone months ago. So that's not even an option. So we came up with something and we had fun. We were pulling things out of the freezer. We were chopping fruit. It was a lot of fun. Besides the fact that it was a project that, you know, we both got into together. It was creative and it was interesting watching my son get blocked because, well, we don't have Twizzlers so we can't do it, instead of going, well, what do we have and what might work? And so it made me just, it reinforced me the power of creativity and thinking outside the box, I guess. I also realized that lately I have, uh, more artistic friends and we started doing, um, paint nights and As much as I don't have artistic ability, every time I go to these paint nights, I have a great time. And I am always amazed that the instructor can get me to create something that even remotely looks like what they've created. And so I, I think it's fun in the process. It's a girl's night. So always, if there's a girl's night, there's, you know, laughing and giggling involved, which I think is good for the soul. But it just reinforces that it can be in my life, even though it's not necessarily one of my talents. I think when Brené Brown said cultivating creativity and letting go of comparison, I think that letting go of comparison is the thing that is the key for me. So not really worrying about other people judging it, just enjoying the process of creating something. In doing this research, I came across a podcast That talked about making art a habit and they had talked to this leading art therapy researcher And she talks about how art changes things in the body and reduces stress and anxiety The other thing that she said that I thought was really fascinating is it gives you agency in other words It allows you to believe that you can handle problems in the future that come your way because in creating art you're problem solving in your creative solution. She's basically saying that engagement and imagination strengthens your brain so things like coloring, doodling, free drawing, um, all create reward pathways in your brain. None of those speak to me. I'm not going to lie to you that those are not, you know, give me a blank piece of paper and I get stressed out. And, you know, like I said in a previous podcast, I will find stickers or colored markers. You know, the extent of my artistic drawing ability is bubble letters, you know, in 3D. That was, you know, that's the thing. That was my go to always in high school, but it's fun to figure out your mode of creative expression, and it could be anything, and she gave a list of all different sorts, and I'll just run through a few here. Finger painting, which I thought, oh my gosh, yes, we totally have to do that. Cooking, baking, drawing, collaging, oil painting, weaving, knitting, crocheting, writing screenplays, scrapbooking, And she said, especially anything that uses your hands engages many parts of your brain. So, I think this is something we can really have fun with and add into our lives in different ways. And it doesn't always have to be the same thing necessarily, but I think by trying things and deciding, yes, I like it or no, I don't. And not saying, do I have talent in this, but did I enjoy it? Now she's saying you don't always necessarily have to enjoy it and you don't even have to finish it to reap the benefits of the creative process. So, for all of us out there who don't necessarily finish every project that we start, what great news is that, right? The interesting thing, though, she did say is the more you make art a habit, the greater the reward is. For her, for example, she has TGIS, thank goodness it's Saturday, and that's when she gets her artistic time in, is on a Saturday. And she said, you know, create an art habit. creative space or, uh, you know, if you have your supplies in a box and it's sitting in a corner that you can see it. So it, you know, that that's where your creative stuff is. And it just keeps it top of mind to encourage you to get back to it. If you just keep showing up and keep creating, then you, you're still going to reap the benefits of it. And if sometimes you're really stuck, try making things for other people. So don't make it about you, you know, focus on what can you make or create for someone else. I was really excited about doing this research because this is not something I've necessarily consciously put in my life, but I think at different stages, it comes into my life, I have a creative process, and then it's done, and when I look back at it now, I think, okay, you know, that was it for me. I'm excited about discovering new ways to be creative and I'm also reinvigorated to help my son with this because of the health benefits, mental fortitude. You know, one of the things I've noticed with having him home, you know, schooling at home now because of COVID 19 is that there isn't a lot of creative process at school. There isn't a lot of independence in the sense that, you know, they go from one class to the other. They're told exactly what to do. Just even making sure that he does all of his schoolwork is, you know, if it's not right in front of him and he's not told exactly what to do, there's no initiative. There's no creativity coming out. So I'm hoping that adding more of this into our lives will help with that process. You know, creativity and fun and having fun with things and making them more creative, I think is going to be A great journey for us to have together. So your challenge this week is to really Think about different creative processes or creative ideas that you could stick into your life and see what brings you joy. I want you to not get so stuck in adulting and start remembering what brings you joy. And start trying new things. Alright, so don't forget, if you want the midweek motivator, just go to thehappieryou.net and sign up for the newsletter and you'll get the podcast delivered to your inbox weekly. The quote I'm going to leave you with is Is from Maya Angelou, and it says, you can't use up creativity.