Creativity - and how it has changed me
Hey friend, so glad you’re here!
My name is Rebecca Macleod and I believe we are all designed to be creative. I believe creativity is a core component to our overall wellness, and connecting with it can support us with self expression, being mindful, feeling joy and practicing rest. But creativity has not always felt this way for me.
I would imagine that most people would have a similar answer if asked, “ when were you most connected to your creativity?” - childhood. Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up,” and isn’t that the truth!
When I was a kid I was always being creative. I loved imagining different worlds, making forts, colouring and sculpting. I loved being outdoors where it felt like a fun challenge to make art out of natural materials I could find around me. When I was a child, connecting with creativity was easy and fun. It made me feel innovative, curious, playful and joyful. Though being creative remained a part of my life after childhood its started to mean something different.
Myth: being creative and being artistic are the same thing
In high school, being creative started to become synonymous with being artistic. It was just this silent shift that over those four years really started to solidify. The overall message was kids who were “creative” took the arts subjects and the kids who were “not-creative” took the sciences and other subjects for electives. Silently my mindset around creativity shifted from one of playful joy and wonder to one of aptitude and skill. If creativity was the same as being artistic and my art skills were being graded and critiqued for academic purposes, then being “creative” was only worth it if you were good at it.
As high school came to a close, everyone is asking what my next step was going to be for my work or education. By that point I had very much bought into the belief that a career in the arts was for the extremely talented and brave, as they likely weren’t going to have a steady income or career path. So instead I set my eyes on post secondary in a professional field, social work. And don’t get me wrong I loved it and still do! But creativity always kept nudging me, asking me to come create again.
Myth: creativity is only valuable if it turns a profit
Throughout my university years I was always doing projects to beautify my dorm room or rental. I would take on little commissions for friends and family and really enjoyed the ways that creativity was still apart of my life. And then university ended and it was time; time to focus on my career. Another silent shift happened, I started to buy into the belief that connecting with my creativity was only worth it if I could monetize. So the side hustle life began taking my artwork and woodworking to craft shows and selling my handmade goods on Esty. This seemed exciting at the time. I was excited to think my creativity could turn a profit. But what I didn’t expect was how exhausting and unfulfilling it was once the show would end or the orders stopped coming in. My creativity was now tied to productivity and profit, and like a boat anchor it dragged right down.
Myth: your productivity equals your worth
Fast forward a few years of working in high stress social work positions, still side hustling from time to time, and I found myself shocked in an online therapy appointment. I had met this therapist all but three times in an effort to address my feelings of burnout and anxiety. One session challenged my belief about creativity. I thought creativity = productivity and my productivity = my worth.
She noted, “I haven’t known you for every long, but it seems like you are always trying to add in something creative to your life; if its not a side hustle, its a community project, or a commissioned design for a friend/family. Even if you don’t have time, you seem to make time for these things. Maybe being creative is key part of who you are?”
I ruminated on this thought for days. I talked to my husband, my mom and my best friend about it.
What if being creative wasn’t the same as being artistic?
What if it wasn’t just a means to an end for feeling productive?
What if it was more than something I was good at and had fun doing?
I realized, creativity is a core component to our overall wellness.
Just like being physical, spiritual or emotional. When we are being physical we are moving our body for strength, flexibility and for fun. It betters our mental health, boosts our confidence, improves our sleep – it releases chemicals from our brain that make us feel good, so we know it is important. When we are being creative it betters our mental health, provides an outlook of expression, it can improve our mood - it releases chemicals from our brain that make us feel good! Your creativity is important!
This shift in understanding has changed everything for me. It lead me to pursue a graduate degree in Art Therapy so that I could support other people in connecting with creativity for the betterment of their mental health. It has encouraged me to use creativity to check in with myself, express and regulate my emotions, and play with art materials again just for the sake of having fun. I still paint and create for the purpose of making a product that I am proud to sell. But that’s not the only time I make to be creative. I now set time aside to connect with that creative wonder I used to use as a child. I see that my creativity is a core component of my wellness and when it is nourished, not unlike my physical or mental health, then I am a happier, more vibrant and present version of myself.
So now I wonder, is your journey with creativity the same?
Did somewhere along the line you start to put yourself in a box of either creative or not? Did you start to believe that being creative was frivolous and not for those with jobs, bills and responsibilities? Or maybe just something you would reconnect with when you retire or have the ever elusive ‘more time’ ?
I want to lovingly challenge you that those beliefs are not true. We are all designed to be creative. Creativity is not for the select few or for those who are ‘artistic’. Connecting with your creativity for fun, for expression and for relaxation supports your overall wellness. It is worthy, you deserve it, and I’ll show you how.
Stay connected with us
here at Rebecca MacLeod Art and we will support you in connecting with your creativity for your wellness.
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