Are you an executive, artist, or thought leader, looking to unlock your human potential? Discover the transformative power of creativity in improving mental health, leadership, and personal growth by reading on!
We know life demands a lot of you: expenses to pay, teams to build, damaged family relationships to heal, goals to reach, a massive ‘to-do’ list, unmotivated employees, politics that seem to pull us further and further apart and the list goes on. Studies show a key ingredient to navigating all of the challenges life throws your way while being a high capacity leader is your creativity!
The Science Behind Creativity and Mental Health
Neuroscience has shown creating art and creativity in general have powerful mental health benefits. Art and creativity is used in some forms therapy and is even impactful enough to help those struggling with the onset of Alzheimers. Simply Drawing or painting “activates visual pathways, stimulating self-narratives and emotional expressions while reinforcing existing language, memory, socialization, and visuospatial abilities” (Art Therapy and Clinical Neuroscience. (2008). United Kingdom: Jessica Kingsley Publishers).
Creativity in Everyday Life
There’s freedom in creativity. Do you paint? Write code? Solve problems all day? Make furniture? Lead your business development? Manage a sales team? Play music? Doodle during meetings? Operate a tech company? Creativity is not limited to traditional art forms.
Then in this modern era, you are considered creative! Yes a few extraordinary individuals have their ‘doodles’ in museums and no matter who sees your masterpieces, we all can benefit from exercising creativity in our life.
Creativity and Leadership
An IBM study with over 1500 global CEOs found creativity to be “the single most important trait for navigating through the complexity” of business in a global market. Creative leaders are more innovative, courageous, and adaptable, making them better equipped to handle challenges and achieve success. Even if you don't run a company, you are CEO of your own life with demanding problems to be solved and a beautifully rewarding life to be realized. A little creativity could be the breath of fresh air, inspiration, and mental flexibility that you need. The same study found that creative leaders:
Score much higher on innovation
Are more courageous and make decisions that alter the status quo
Consider previously unheard-of ways to drastically change their enterprise (i.e. your life)
Make greater business model changes to realize their strategies
These all sound wonderful but what does this mean for me? I’m glad you asked! Realizing the process and honoring the space to be present in creativity is the first step. Could I propose that creating space in your day for just 10 minutes of drawing, painting, playing music, or even playing a game of charades, is just as important as the business meetings you have? Why? Because your mind will show up healthier, more flexible, and firing on all cylinders. You may even find solutions and innovative ideas you would have never seen before!
The Benefits of "Flow"
Creativity improves your mental health and can develop you into a powerhouse of a leader. Intentional creativity encourages a mental state psychologists refer to as “flow”. Flow is seen as the “optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best”. Bogglingly, this flow state of mind not only impacts the very moment experienced and it even was found in a Harvard study by Teresa Amiable to flow over (#dadjokes) to a “heightened creativity for the long haul”.
Harness Creativity for a Flourishing Life
Embrace creativity in your daily life, and watch your mental health and leadership abilities soar. This is your life! Get out there, be creative, and live your flourishing life! Because: you, your family, and your company are worth it! Prioritizing the creative activities will help you experience the transformative power of flow, innovation, and personal growth.
Connect with Us
We hope this blog post inspires you to live a life filled with color and possibility! if anything here has made an impact on you, we want to know! Message us on instagram (@humancreativecoaching) or email us at hello@humancreativecoaching.com!
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Explore our additional blogs here or read more from our posts on Creativity:
Human Creative Coaching, A Life Coaching Practice and Mental Health Movement
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