How Creativity Can Cultivate Self-Love & Vice Versa

Creativity is an essential part of life. For all of us. Whether you see yourself as a creative person or not. You may not be an artist or a designer or a writer, and you may not have any interest in those things that have been labeled as “creative.” But I believe creativity is so much more than those things. You can be creative every single day of your life without making a single piece of art.

Creativity comes in so many forms. Of course, you have your painting and sketching and sculpting. There is filmmaking and music. There is dance. There is yoga. There is cooking, baking, food styling. Creativity can also be seen in fashion and make-up and hair styling. You can be creative in the way you speak. The way you move. The way you make people laugh. You can be creative in the proposals you write, the spreadsheets you put together, the presentations you give at work.

Creativity is ingrained in the way we live our lives as individuals. It is everywhere; in every choice that we make. The way we decorate our homes. The hobbies we choose. The clothes we wear. We are all creative. That’s part of what makes us human.

How Creativity Found Me.

I’ve spent a lot of time feeling lost in my life. Not knowing where I belong or what I’m supposed to be doing. What my purpose is. I’ve always kind of felt like I’m just floating along this river of life, reaching out on both sides with all my might, trying to grasp onto something meaningful that will stick and give me reason and direction. The only time I truly feel grounded is when I am creating. Whether I am painting, cooking, taking photographs, sketching, writing, moving my body in ways that feel good. Whatever it may be, I get this feeling that I am truly coming back to me. I’ve stripped away all of the fear and anxiety and daily stress, and I am alive. I am here, on this earth, doing something that makes me feel useful and invigorated.

Like I mentioned before, this could look completely different for you. Your creative safe haven could be singing, watching films, working on your car, going for a run, attending a lecture. Anything that makes you feel alive and allows you to gain something to add to this mural that is your life. We are all painters in a way. Adding little bits of paint with every choice we make, forever working towards completing our masterpiece. This masterpiece I speak of is ourselves. It is you. And me. We are ultimately our own masterpiece. We are a result of our own creative choices and mistakes and hard work.

A lot of “me” time is important.

As I mentioned before, being creative in my own way, brings me back to ME. It is time spent with myself, for myself. Creativity is an act of self-love. Letting your deepest desires and your individuality come out to play. Feeding and growing those little seeds inside of you, making you the person you were meant to be. Self-love is also an act of creativity. The way you choose to take care of yourself can have a big impact on your creative endeavors. You need to treat yourself with respect and love, and you need to honor the things inside of you that make you different.

Don’t stifle any of your inner dreams. They are calling out to you because they need to be heard. And it is your responsibility to give those dreams a voice. We are all different, and we all have different qualities and talents and contributions to make to the world. Creativity is our way to do that. But without self-love and acceptance, this creativity often doesn’t get the chance to help deliver these contributions to the world. Once we accept ourselves for who we are and love ourselves for the things that make us an individual unlike anyone else, our creativity will blossom. And it goes the other way, too.

If you are feeling lost or down on yourself, do something creative. Get to know yourself better. Let off some steam and let your inner self shine out. I believe that being creative is the perfect way to get to know yourself and, ultimately, fall in love with the person you are, which in turn, allows you to be more creative in your chosen way, contributing all you have to offer to the world.

Master one, master all but never master none.
So, as an act of self-love, create something today. Do something just for you. Something that makes you feel alive. Whatever that may be. Build yourself up by doing the things that you love, the things that make you who you are. Create your life day by day, choice by choice, moment by moment. Enhance your individuality and use your creativity to make this world a place that we all want to be. We are all creative in our own way, and we crave the creativity of others to feel connected and inspired. So, pick up your brush, and get to work on the masterpiece that is YOU.