Engage With Your Creative Potential

Do you ever feel like you have all these creative ideas swirling around your head that you don’t know what to do with? Or maybe you feel like you want to be creative, but have no idea where to start.
A fundamental value of art therapy is that creativity is our birthright. Whether we consider ourselves artists or not, we all have creative potential. Here are some ways to answer when your creative potential is calling you:

Be adaptable

Don’t lock yourself in with one version of your idea. Give yourself permission to re-imagine all your great ideas. Don’t stay stuck in a mindset that limits creativity. Instead, allow flexibility and freedom to flow through you. This will help you unlock and engage your creativity.

Don’t sacrifice your sleep

Sleeping helps us recharge our brains. While we are sleeping, our brains are still processing the information it picked up during the day. In order for us to fully integrate our creative ideas, we must give our mind a break with sleep so that it can process and cement the ideas we’ve had during the day. When we wake up, our ideas will be more coherent and thought out.

Disregard perfection

You start a war with yourself by being overly concerned about your ideas being perfect. Perfectionism is tricky. The growing fear of failure prevents you from getting started, and you end up avoiding the task altogether. Instead of worrying about perfection, fearlessly dive in. Failure is better than not trying at all, because you always learn from failure and you can come up with newer and better ideas along the way.

Do an activity you love

Lift that pressure to have the next big, creative idea by doing something that you love. Engaging in your hobbies relaxes the mind, soothes anxiety, and makes you feel productive. Allowing yourself to relax into an activity that brings you joy lowers your stress levels, which helps your creative mind become more active.

Unplug and spend time outdoors

I can’t even begin to explain how freeing it is to leave your phone inside and let your curiosity guide you as you step out into nature. Taking time to unplug from social media and observing the beauty and wonder of the outdoors will inspire you to create. Sometimes, the best ideas find you when you give your mind and body the chance to wander. The fresh air and abundance of nature will be enough to get your brain moving and the ideas flowing.

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Starting with a creative written voice and a BA in English from ASU, Alli Cravener has become so much more than Integrative Counsel’s voice! Not only is she a writer who is passionate about connecting concepts and content, Alli is also currently a grad student working towards her Master’s in Counseling. She is also the editor-in-chief, office manager, AND intake specialist at Integrative Counsel. When you call us, you’ll talk to Alli! Alli’s interests include painting, history, learning about other people, and wearing the color pink. She likens herself to a “mouse in a palm tree”, and she loves it that way.