The age of the Internet is in full swing and as social media continues to take over our lives, it becomes necessary to put our energy into something beneficial. We can use creative processes such as blogging, photography, styling, and storytelling to make positive impacts on our society each and every day.
Whatever it is that you are interested in, you should strive to practice it for at least 30 minutes a day– not to just keep getting better at it, but to give yourself a mental break, while exercising your creative juices.
Let’s face it. We could all use a break from the Internet and social media. As it is right at our fingertips, we constantly fall victim to mindlessly scrolling or checking our notifications. Before we know it, the day is over and what have we accomplished? Nothing.
With so many distractions around us, we need to make a conscious effort to find a hobby that will allow us to exercise our intellectual minds, whether it’s singing, writing, dancing, taking photos, drawing, or even just journaling.
What is Creative Expression?
To me, creative expression means looking within oneself, then bringing that out externally. For instance, I have so many thoughts and my mind wanders on thousands of different tangents a day; however, writing helps me to organize my thoughts and feel as though they had some meaning to them.
According to the Joyful Heart Foundation,
“The arts address the idea of an aesthetic experience. An aesthetic experience is one in which the senses are operating at their peak, when you are present in the current moment, when you are resonating with the excitement of this thing that you are experiencing, when you are fully alive.”
Simms, A. (n.d.). Creative Expression. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from http://www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/reunion/creative-expression
Expressing ourselves makes us feel alive.
I see so many people struggling around me, not knowing what their purpose is and constantly feeling physically and emotionally drained. It isn’t easy to spend your precious hours working for someone else all day, and it can feel as though we’ve pushed our own mental health to the sidelines. This is why I believe everyone should find a way to express themselves and stick to it.
How Do I Express Myself?
So many people have an urge to express themselves, but don’t know how or are too afraid to do so.
It may feel scary or weird to put your inner thoughts out there on social media or your blog, but just know that there are other people looking at your content and admiring you for your self-realization and action.
Yes, you’re going to feel vulnerable. However, isn’t life too short to feel safe 24/7? Without taking these risks or expressing ourselves creatively, we are going to feel lost and frankly, bored.
Also, you don’t have to put your innermost, strange thoughts out there for everyone to see. You can start by just keeping a personal journal or personal art folder; however, the important thing is to just start.
Try new things, do something different, document the experience. Share your story with the world. Share your art with strangers. This life wasn’t meant for us to be boxed in with our own thoughts; as creative, social creatures, we are meant to share our art with the rest of the world. If not for yourself, then do it to inspire others to express themselves. Maybe someone will see how confident you are in expressing yourself that he or she will take steps to express themselves as well.
Stop worrying about what other people think of you and just follow your heart and your passions. In my personal opinion, the “weirder” you are, the better. These days, everyone seems to look, think, and act the same. So, why not shake it up a bit and put a little bit of Y.O.U out there into the world? The worst that could happen is the people who don’t like you don’t consumer your content.
But the positives?
You will be amazed how many people start to reach out to you. You will create true, genuine relationships with people who respect you and can’t wait to see the next piece of content you produce. People will admire your courage for stepping our of your comfort zone. And many will sit back and wonder how you did it.
To wrap it all up, find some way to express yourself and make a commitment to yourself to stick with it. Your mental health will dramatically increase, you will be intellectually stimulated and challenged, and you will discover more about yourself than you could ever image.
Let’s make the world a little bit of a better place today by sharing our art with each other.
This is such a great read!!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!
Love this article!!
Thanks so much Jen!!