People say I’m creative and for years I denied that. I didn’t see myself as creative at all, as I don’t have some kind of creative talent with which I stand out.

But over the years, I started to realise that I am kind of creative… here on my blog for instance, I create my posts, take most images myself, I write all the texts myself. At my job I am often brainstorming to think of ways to improve our HR policy. At work I am also in charge of the newsletter, which takes a bit of creativity as I have to make the lay-out. I like taking pictures and often I just put my camera on automatic mode, but sometimes I experiment with the settings and filters. So yes, I am creative… not Pablo Picasso creative, but I guess I am more creative than the average person.

So I guess you can be creative in a lot of ways. There are so many different areas in which you can develop your creativity and like me, you don’t have to excel in one specific area!

Being creative also has lots of benefits for your mental health:

• It sharpens your mind.

• It will motivate and enthuse you.

• When you make/create things, it gives you a kind of satisfaction

• If you receive compliments about or recognition for what you have made, it increases your self-confidence, which makes you feel better in your own skin.

You see, boosting your creativity will definitely boost your energy!

You can be creative in many areas: drawing, painting, photography, flower arranging, handicrafts, making music, cooking, reading aloud,… and as I said before: you don’t have to excel in a specific area to be called creative!

Two more tips to boost your creativity:

• Try to set yourself some restrictions when creating. Here are some examples:
  • restriction in photography: only take images in black and white, don’t use the zoom,…
  • restriction when cooking: limit the number of ingredients
  • restriction when writing: write from a different point of view than you’re used to
  • restriction in styling: pick one piece of clothing to style differently every single day of the week
  • …
• What you can also do to stimulate your creativity is to find a ‘partner in crime’, someone with whom you take on a creative challenge . You will challenge, strengthen, complement each other, the other will question certain steps of yours and vice versa,…

I really hope I have given you some tips to be more creative and I challenge you to find your creativity!

Love, Kathleen