Do you enjoy painting, drawing, writing or arts and crafts? Are you a talented baker or songwriter, or do you have designs on mastering new creative skills in the future? Whether creative activities form part of your job, or they’re just a hobby, there are several benefits to letting your creative juices flow. 

Benefits Of Being Creative

Mental health and wellness

Many of us dust off our paintbrushes or get a notepad out and start writing purely for enjoyment purposes, but there are multiple benefits to being creative. Studies show that activities like writing, painting, making cards, baking, sewing, writing and playing music, and making pottery can actually be very therapeutic.

Creative pursuits provide an outlet, which gives us a platform to express emotions that we sometimes struggle to put into words or get off our chest. Hobbies like writing can help you process and manage your thoughts and feelings if you’re angry or frustrated. If you’re upset, it might be easier to paint or to put words down on paper than open up to a friend or try and verbalize your sadness or grief. 

As well as helping you deal with your emotions, which can be beneficial for mental wellbeing, creative pastimes can also boost mental health by providing a distraction, generating positive thoughts and emotions, and simply allowing you to have fun. Many people also take the opportunity to enjoy some time alone and to embrace a little peace and tranquility when they’re being creative. Perhaps you love to get your sewing or knitting needles out when the kids have gone to bed, or you enjoy drawing for an hour or so after a long or busy day at work. 

Research conducted by Heather L Stuckey and Jeremy Noble found that creative hobbies can help people to deal with the aftermath of traumatic situations. While expressive writing was found to stir up negative feelings immediately after an incident but, long-term benefits were evident. Another study found that writing and journaling also enhanced self-confidence and positivity in those who focused on wanting to be the best version of themselves. 

Relaxation and reducing stress

Stress is one of the most common ailments in our modern society. We work longer hours than ever before. Most of us are stressed throughout our lives. Money worries, relationship troubles, stress at work, and poor health are some of the most common causes of stress. There are myriad self-help techniques that are recommended for dealing with and managing stress, and one of those is creative activities. 

If you’ve had a bad day at work, your mind is racing, or you’re feeling upset after an argument with your partner or a family member, exercising your creative talents can make a difference. When you’re relaxed your blood pressure and heart rate fall. Also, your levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, decrease and you should find it easier to get to sleep and to focus your mind on other things. Being creative can be incredibly cathartic and it can provide a route for escapism. A recent study followed 100 adults and suggests that those who devote time to leisure activities and hobbies are 34% less stressed than others. 

As well as reducing stress, being creative can also increase happiness. Many of us enjoy spending our free time painting, writing lyrics or poems, cooking, drawing, making clothes or dancing. There are all kinds of creative hobbies out there, and even 5 minutes a day can have an amazing impact on happiness and wellbeing. If you’re looking to take up a new hobby to make you smile.

Boosting your income

If you find a job you love, you’ll never work day in your life. The truth is that it’s not always possible to land your dream job, and some days at work are a lot more stressful than others. Most of us dread going to work from time to time, and everyone is familiar with the scenario of wanting to turn their alarm off and climb under the covers rather than getting up on a Monday morning. If your job leaves you wanting more, you find it stressful, or you don’t earn quite as much as you’d like to, using your creative talents could provide a very handy income boost.

If ,

• people are always telling you how fabulous your cakes are.
• you’ve written blogs that have been warmly received.
• you’ve had people asking about cards you’ve made for special occasions.
• or anything else along these lines.

explore the option of setting up a sideline. Stock up on supplies from websites like craftdirect.com if you’re a talented card maker, or visit a catering store and invest in equipment to make batches of cakes. Once you’re up and running, you can use techniques like flyers, social media, and optimized content on your blog and website to attract attention and generate orders. 

Increasing brain power

To get the best out of your brain, you have to keep it busy. While it’s always beneficial to take time out and to chill after a long day, it’s also important to exercise your brain. The good news is that creative pursuits aren’t just fun and relaxing. They can also boost your brain power. Brain exercising activities include: embroidery, crafting, and writing. Flexing your gray matter will help to increase concentration and improve memory, as well as reducing the risk of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease in the future. 

Many of us choose to be creative as a means of having fun. While pastimes like writing and sewing are enjoyable, they have much more to offer. Being creative reduces stress, increases happiness, and provides an outlet for processing and expressing emotions. Creative hobbies can also boost brain power and they might also provide you with a lucrative sideline that brings wealth and contentment.