Creativity does not mean you have to take up painting!
Anxiety is a form of fear that comes in many disguises.
- Thoughts that something bad is going to happen.
- Crushing chest tightness and shortness of breath.
- A mind that projects into the future with all the “what-ifs” that likely will never happen.
- All the fearful negative self-talk about failing, not being liked, being judged or left out.
Think of being in a tunnel and there is only one way to think, be and feel. It’s hard to find a way out so you just keep walking down the same tunnel.
But it’s all a tunnel of fear and the monster is inside of you.
Sometimes anxiety tells us we need to move towards an action. To have that difficult conversation, to study for that exam, to clean the house or pay that bill.
But if it’s not, then choose a different tunnel. Just take one step in that direction. This is the act of creativity. Creativity expands, fear contracts.
Creativity is the ability to think about a task or a problem in a new or different way, or the ability to use the imagination to generate new ideas.
It is creating a new neural pathway by doing something different and new. Nothing big, just a small creative move.
Don’t just sit there and drown in anxiety. Move a different way, take a different route, take a photo with your phone, drink a new tea, look at old photos, plant a flower, bake, write, sew.
There are SO many options available to you, you could keep going for the rest of your life.
It doesn’t matter what you do, just that you do it.
One step leads to another, to another. It lights up pathways in your brain of curiosity and novelty and our brains love that!
It’s good for your soul, good for your health and takes you into the realm of possibility. The
“what-ifs” that expand you into the place of awe and wonder.
What if today was a great day.
I wonder what might unfold today for me.
I wonder what I might create that is new.
I wonder what else I can do today that is new.
This is a game changer. Try it. For me, writing is my favourite form of creativity so thank you for reading.
Don’t waste your life consuming anxiety, start creating.
