Creativity Requires Taking Action

“Creativity requires activity, and this is not good news to most of us. It makes us responsible, and we tend to hate that. You mean I have to do something in order to feel better?”

Julia Cameron

I thought I'd check in with you and see how your morning pages are going?

The last few weeks I've been focusing on the topic of creativity.  We all have it you know, but it's like so many of our talents; we just sit on them and don't take any action.  In her book, The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron wants us to take more responsibility in nurturing that creative child that lives inside us. As I mentioned several weeks ago, writing 'morning pages' is one of the things we can do to kick-start our creative engines.

 

If you haven’t been regularly putting the pen to your paper, then let me encourage you once more to take action.  Does it surprise you that research shows journaling is one of the best proven boosters for happiness? Dr. Laura King and James Pennebaker found a number of interesting outcomes from journaling; they found by just putting our thoughts down on paper that it regulates our moods by giving us a safe emotional outlet, it's a way to put life into perspective and it gives us a fresh way to ignite hopefulness about the future.  So, writing in our journal not only helps to nurture our creativity….it also makes us happier.

 

Here's a short youtube clip on keeping a journal.  (by Ella Morton)

 

And just in case the thing that's holding you back from writing in your journal is that you don't know what to write, then here's some tips from Samara O’Shea's book, Note to Self: On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits: "Got nothing? Try a few prompts, such as answering questions or describing your life.

How am I feeling?
How do I want to be feeling?
What do I want to learn about myself?
What do I want to change about myself?
What would I never change about myself?
Describe the room.
Describe the people in your life.
Describe yourself.
Describe the aspects of your life that you’re pleased with and those areas you’re displeased with."

Ok, Let's get to it then, write it down....take action!

I’d love to hear about what you are ‘doing’ with your creative self this summer.  Maybe your taking action will motivate us to do the same.

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