7 Simple Ways to Nurture Your Creativity

I remember when I was deep in the corporate space, I never felt like I had time or energy for anything creative. By the time I got home, I had used up all of my (Projector) energy, most of my brain cells felt zapped and all I wanted to do was check out.......and even if I wanted to do something creative, I felt overwhelmed as to what to do or where to even start.

I'll be sharing more about my own journey from corporate to creative in the next couple of weeks but today I'd like to offer up some simple and practical steps I've utilized and you can take to nurture your own creativity starting today.

I intentionally use the word 'nurture' instead of "optimize" or "accelerate" or whatever quick fix / dysregulating language we are constantly getting bombarded with these days because first and foremost creativity needs a safe and stable foundation to exist within. Like I said in the Creativity Is Your Currency newsletter earlier this week, our creativity is our life force so the ways in which we tend to it are the ways in which we also tend to our own energy and prana.

I emphasize *simple* because capitalism loves to make things difficult and not actually accessible. Creativity is one of the most accessible things we have access to because to our core we are all creative; we are all creators simply because we exist.

I also find that for myself and my clients, when things aren't simple, practical and accessible, our self-sabotage mechanisms have way too much leeway and our creative urges continue to get suppressed and buried.

7 Simple Ways to Nurture Your Creativity (Creative Self)

1. Rest

Yup. Imagination, or the kind of imagination that is generative and life affirming for ourselves and others, cannot exist from an empty cup. Our society is deeply indoctrinated into the grind culture and even though so many of us actually want to theoretically unsubscribe from that, we (and our nervous systems) don't always know how. The Nap Ministry goes into far greater profound depth around the concept of rest being a form of resistance in their book Rest is Resistance, but however we choose to define/implement our own versions of rest, it is the foundation from which true imagination can spring forth.

Your value and your creativity are not based off of what you produce out in the world, regardless of what capitalism, corporations and this society beat into us.

Also, just turn your phone off. Close the laptop. Look away from your screen(s). Put away the to-do list. Even if it's for an hour. Give your brain and your pineal gland a break.


2.) Nature

Nature is the OG creation station. Not only does nature stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) and return our bodies back to a grounded, regulated and centered place but it's also an endless opportunity for inspiration. Have you ever actually looked closely at a flower? Examined the intricacies of a single leaf?

Being present in nature allows us to be present to creation itself.

3.) Clear Your Energy / Call Your Energy Back

When we are Highly Sensitive we have the beauty of usually also being highly intuitive and highly creative; however, we also deal with the challenge of being more susceptible to absorbing others' energies and emotions which can overwhelm, dysregulate and confuse us. Whether it's through going into nature, somatic (body) movement (I recommend The Class), calling your energy back with this free meditation or using more trauma informed tools like EFT / 'Tapping' - releasing the energy that isn't yours helps to keep your intuitive channel clear and your nervous system more easily regulated.

3.) More Output, Less Input

We are absorbing content and others' ideas and perspectives literally all day. Reading books and observing others can be amazing (and sometimes necessary) for information and inspiration; however, this is when we must use our energy tools to check in with ourselves. Especially if you are highly sensitive, this level of absorption can create emotional and energetic dysregulation as well as interrupt our own creative flow / channel. We must ask ourselves, do we feel inspired or are we comparing? Do we feel nourished or depleted?

The idea of more output, less input is not so much about "doing" and "producing" work as it is about tuning into our own creativity, acting on our own inspiration and not ingesting so much noise.

4.) Take Notes

At the end of the day, our creativity is not "ours." We are a channel, an antennae, for creative energy to plant seeds and flow through us. It's just waiting for us to open up and receive it and that means that sometimes creativity can be sparked in the most unexpected times and places and not always convenient. I have a running folder in my phone that's just all of my creative ideas that come to me at all times and places in the day. This could be a notebook for you or even audio notes to yourself, which I am a huge fan of.

This is also helpful for understanding what we are feeling drawn to creatively. Maybe we feel some jealously hearing a friend talk about a cooking class they've tried or we see someone on social media learning how to dance (jealousy can be a wonderful sign of what we ourselves are craving).

5.) Pick a New Direction

We can get really comfortable in our routines and that's ok. Routines can give us a sense of stability and centering; however, they can also keep us rigid. Whether it's driving a new way home, taking a different street on your daily walk or literally parting your hair in a different way, it doesn't have to be hard to create new neurological pathways for ourselves. This opens up the possibility for seeing new things, experiencing different emotional states, creating serendipitous encounters or having a new perspective all together.

6.) Artist Date

This (and morning pages) was one of my most important take aways from reading The Artists Way. The concept is simple - find a block of time (the book says 2 hours but I think for accessibility purposes it can be whatever you can make work) that is set aside for just you where you are exploring/feeding your creativity in some capacity. This can be anything from reading a book, taking a cooking class, going to a museum, buying yourself flowers, seeing a movie you've been wanting to see or just do nothing and listen to music and stare at the sky (personal favorite).

This is less about what you "do" and more about giving a signal to your creativity that says, "hey, you matter to me. You are important and I'd like to just spend some time together you and I." Think of it like playing with a younger version of yourself - what would they like to do?

7.) Community

Creativity can feel very scary sometimes. It can feel vulnerable to explore on your own and even scarier to share...... which is why community, the right community, is so important. In community, with the right people and the right encouragement, we can start to dismantle some of the stories we may have internalized that being creative isn't safe, that we must hide this part of ourselves or that we are somehow unworthy.

Questions to consider:

• Who are the people you feel safe to share with in your life currently - who would be encouraging for you, your ideas and your expression?

• If you don't have anyone that comes to mind, what are the qualities of the *types* of people you would like to be in relationship with who would be supportive?

And if you’re looking to unblock your creativity, move a creative vision forward or enter the next phase of your creative evolution I am now offering week long Creative Currency Mentorship sessions. You can read more below or find out more here.