How do you use your creativity? We all do have creative abilities, however we can be filled with self-doubt when thinking about being creative We can lack confidence in ourselves. If this is our experience, rather than not acting, taking small actions that we know we can manage, can help us move towards more adventurous projects. Have you found ways of expressing your creativity?

There are a myriad forms for this from preparing food, arranging flowers, doing DIY, playing an instrument, gardening, crafts….the list is endless. Time spent on creativity can take our minds away from anxious thoughts, it gives us a different focus. The process can be helpful in itself and on top we may have the satisfaction of having created something we like.

There is therapeutic value in creativity. The very act of choosing to do something positive is beneficial no matter how it turns out. If it is hard to start, it can help to remember something creative we did before that went well. If the outcome is not what we are hoping for, it is important to be aware that there will have been value in the process itself….. when gardening, not all plants will do well but the very act of planting seeds is beneficial in lots of ways.  

Rather than something that will take a lot of preparation and buying extra items it can be helpful to start with something that can be created from what we already have. But the key is choosing something that fits for us. So I invite you to give your creativity some space this week in whatever way suits you.

Sarah writes…

When he was five, my son bounded out of school into my arms and announced ‘I made a brilliant mistake today mummy’.

He was proud of his mistake, because he understood mistakes as helping us to learn, and nothing to be ashamed of.

Imagine if you put such a spin on the mistakes that you make.  My lived experience is that not many of us do.

Many of the people I work with and know personally feel shame and/or horror when they make mistakes, judging themselves harshly, showing little self-compassion or understanding.  They imagine that the mistake will make them less likeable or fear abandonment.

I know that mistakes don’t make me like people any less; just like big achievements don’t make me like people any more.   I like people because of who they are, not what they achieve.

Mistakes are part of our learning process, one of my favourite quotes comes from Samuel Smiles, who says:

“We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.”

Imagine the difference to our lives if we saw mistakes, not as failures but as part of our learning process paving the way to success!