Creativity is one of the most distinct differences between humans and other life forms on Earth. There’s a ton of research and resources available–many on the web–that explore the connection between creativity, the brain and overall wellness.  In fact, there are so many great resources that I won’t attempt to reproduce that here. 

Instead, I want to share some observations about creativity and why it is an important ongoing aspect of my life and I believe yours.

First, creativity doesn’t have to mean writing a symphony or painting the next piece to hang in the Louvre.  Creativity encompasses all things that we as humans can create. For the purpose of this post and my point, “create” and “creativity” are interchangeable and produce similar outcomes.

“Create” means “to bring something into existence.” “Creativity” means “the use of the imagination or original ideas.” Both involve the production of something.

• a solution to a problem
• writing an impassioned letter, journal entry or blog post
• a photograph or video
• and so on…

In previous blog entries, I have shared my life purpose statement.  Creating and being creative is an integral part of my life purpose and indeed, when I’m doing either, I feel a sense of purpose.  

Creating or being creative also provides me a sense of control over my environment and life.  It is empowering to know that I can produce something unique or something that gives me or others joy. 

And most of the people I talk to have similar feelings.  Unfortunately, a lot of us forget this and sometimes days pass without benefiting from the happiness that comes from creating. 

As we head into the winter months, when daylight is scarce and more of our time is spent hunkered down indoors, it is especially important to nurture our happiness and creativity.  

My challenge to you – make it a habit to create something every day.  

As a photographer, I often join “photo challenges.”  A common one involves taking and sharing one photo every day.  The photo doesn’t even have to be good. It may seem simple, but the act of taking a few moments to capture that photo makes me feel productive. When I receive feedback, the positive feelings are even more intense.  

As I alluded to above, even I forget to create sometimes.  As a result, I’ve started to add “create” to my daily “to do” list.  And that has helped. Just knowing that I created something that previously didn’t exist always gives me a sense of accomplishment.