“Where do I start? I haven’t got a creative bone in my body!”

Nope.

Everyone has an element of creativity within them. It’s part of human nature, and utilising that creativity doesn’t have to be in the form of fine art or operatic voice training. Keep it simple – sometimes the simplest acts of creativity can feel the best! We can also use creativity as a means to improve our mental health by expressing our feelings and generally enjoying ourselves.

Here are some ideas!

Art

• Finger painting: Channel your inner child and enjoy a bit of finger painting. You can find loads of ideas and prompts on Pinterest, but you can do whatever you want. Even if you just want to do a flower or a smiley face, it’s all creative!
• Colouring: Colouring isn’t just for kids anymore! Adult colouring is huge, and as well as being creative, it’s also calming and enjoyable.

Crafts

• Decorate stones: You don’t need special stones, just grab some from outside! The flatter and smoother the better. Use stone-writing pens to write positive quotes or cute pictures on them.
• Decorate a self-love jar: Take a jar and decorate it with paint, glitter, stickers, sequins, buttons, or whatever you want to use. When it’s finished, fill the jar with little slips of paper with positive quotes or things you like about yourself on little slips of paper. When you’re feeling low, take one out and read it. It’s a self-care/creativity combo!

Poetry

• Haiku: A haiku is a three-line poem, in which the first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line has five syllables. It can be about anything you want, it doesn’t have to rhyme, and it doesn’t take long to do, so it’s pretty much immediate creative gratification. Within three lines, you’re a poet! Congrats!
• Free verse: As the name suggests, free verse gives you free rein to just write whatever you want. It’s literally whatever you want to write. It doesn’t have to rhyme, there are no set amount of syllables or lines. You can do whatever you want!

Dance

• Dad-dance: Literally anyone can Dad-dance – you don’t even have to be a Dad! Give it a try in your living room – it’s liberating!
• Macarena/pop-culture dances: Most of us have danced the Macarena or the Cha-Cha Slide at some point in our lives, even if we don’t know all the moves, you can always freestyle and fill in the gaps with your own!

Singing

• In the shower/in the car: Throw embarrassment out the window and start belting out some songs while you’re doing everyday things like taking a shower or driving to work. Singing is a great way to express creativity, and can also be a mood booster!
• Choir: Joining a choir or singing group might seem scary, but it’s a good way to introduce yourself to singing in public, and if you’re nervous, you can sit in the back and sing quietly to start with. You’ll be surprised how quickly your confidence grows.

How do you get creative? What do you think of my suggestions? Let me know in the comments below!