Throughout my “corporate America” career I've been happiest and the most satisfied in roles that involved a lot of creativity. I'm not referring to the artistic type, but the problem-solving type that included the development of software, databases, automated tools, process improvement initiatives, technical writing, website design, development and maintenance, and more. When I have been in roles where my skills and creativity were underutilized, even stifled, I have felt wholly frustrated, restrained, and miserable. That's when I have traditionally sought creative outlets outside of a full-time job.
As I've stated before, I neglected my creativity in recent years. I have recently come to the conclusion that such neglect coupled with a severe lack of creativity and creative freedom in a corporate job has been a detriment to my mental health. I only came to this conclusion after my resurgence of creative expression, through my current creative outlets and activities, continuous learning efforts, and limiting my time on social media. All of that has contributed to new vitality, hopefulness, excitement, joy, and creative satisfaction — finally. For me, being creative has a profound impact on mental health.
If I break down all of my creative activities in recent months, it looks something like this:
- Resurrecting my site and blog.
- Experimenting with new approaches to art.
- Expanding my digital art to include surface design.
- Resurrecting my long-neglected YouTube channel and creating videos (something I haven't done in years).
- Starting another YouTube channel.
- Developing a series of adult coloring books. I expect them to be published within a few months.
- and more…
It's amazing how much being creative again has improved my outlook. I'm having fun again. And I don't want to stop. I am not going to let anything interfere with this growth going forward.
While all of these efforts are true creative outlets for me, my goal is to also bring value to others. I strongly feel that contributing to the world — when we're a voice that makes a difference in the lives of others — is so rewarding. One of the first domains I owned and websites I built back in the 90s was centered around community and making a difference.
These days, I tend to be more of a creative who wants to make beautiful, powerful, unique, fun, silly, elegant, and/or enjoyable statement pieces — whether that is through my photography and art, my surface designs, my books, my unique collections and stationery, or my videos. A few of the ways I'm going to attempt to make a difference is through my messaging in video and adult coloring books. If you've ever taken the time to color as an adult, you know how relaxing it can be. It's a stress reliever. I want all of us to include more activities that promote relaxation and the reduction of stress in our lives.
I've had my share of activism and political engagement during recent decades and I'm tired. Taking a break and contributing in other ways will be refreshing and rejuvenating. That doesn't mean I'm going to fully ignore the issues that are important to me, though. For my mental health, this break is necessary. The world is a tough place. I want to promote self-care.
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This is going to be a short post because I truly believe the real benefit of what I'm writing is best expressed in the below video. Grab yourself a cup of Joe and set aside some time to watch this video.
Just one of the profound statements in the video:
“Creativity is the key of how things travel from the head to the heart to the hand.” – Brene Brown
Until the next post, have a wonderfully creative day.
