By: Isha Capulong
Many women often think “Nah, a creative? that’s not me, I don’t have a single creative bone in my body!” In fact, I once thought that way myself.
Don’t get me wrong. I am a lover of the arts. I love to read, listen to music, and appreciate art from paintings to sculpture to photography up to fashion and interior design.That was all it was to me though, appreciation. I believed I was not capable of creating anything on my own. The best that I could do was copy a sketch. That is as far as my creativity went.
Before I gave birth, I figured that as I progressed in my pregnancy I would be too huge and too heavy to move around so I decided to try my hand at creating—something I knew I could do at home. So I signed myself up for a basic jewelry making class, and fell in love with beading and jewelry making.
The experience of creating something throughout my pregnancy and after as a stay-at-home mom was one of the most important discoveries for me as a way to sane.
Here are 3 good reasons why you should get creative too!
Fulfillment
I think that every mother will agree with me that the first few months of newborn care feels a lot like a dreamy, foggy, illlusion. Every day we are high on our confusion and questions—asking ourselves, what do we do? what’s wrong with us? and what’s wrong with our baby?
It can be a boring and tiring routine. For those like me who have experienced postpartum depression, you understand that there is a deep need to feel fulfilled in those months because you are constantly doubting yourself and wondering if you are doing anything right.
Completing one piece of jewelry provided me with a sense of satisfaction that filled up the well of my chewed up, “new mom” self-esteem and self-worth. Even if I received a lot of encouragement from my husband, it was still very different from witnessing the appreciation of someone for one of my own creations. Creating something made me feel like: “Hey, I’m not just a milk machine, butt washer and baby hugger! I’m way more than that! There is so much more to me than that.”
Focus
In a woman’s brain, everything is connected. This is why we are such great multi-taskers. We are able to think about the menu for tomorrow while bathing our babies. While this ability is pretty amazing, it can also drive us crazy. For example, you could be thinking about the list of things that need to be done for the house and then you’re worrying about when your parents will come and visit because then what would they think about the state of your house oh and then you’re worrying about your kid’s next playdate all while you’re looking at yourself in the mirror thinking whether or not your shoes look good with the rest of your outfit. Phew! That has got to be super tiring
I found that creating and crafting helps me to focus on one task at a time. This is a practice recommended by many psychologists for mental health and overall effectivity. I’ve discovered that this is true.
When one focuses, one relaxes a and when one relaxes, one does each activity well. Creativity is a win for practicality as well.
Fresh
Did you ever feel like everything in your life was so monotonous and that the routine has numbed you? Truly, using your creativity is a sure way to dispel all those feelings of inner decay.
In any creative outlet, you’ll be forced to do something out of the box, something new or something you aren’t comfortable doing.
Embrace it!
Embrace the newness of the challenges, the initial fear of failing, seize the moment and execute! If you fail, don’t let it discourage you. Try again. Ask advice from people who you think are better than you. That always works. Create new friendships in those moments and cherish them. Research, read and study. Those are wonderful ways to train yourself yourself. You never stop learning anyway.
I hope those three reasons will encourage you to try new things to make your creativity come alive. You could take a pottery class, painting lesson, or join a photography group or a contest even – drag your husband too and see whether it can double as a bonding activity between the two of you.
Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom (aka SAHM) or a working momma, every woman’s got some sort of creative outlet in them that’s waiting to blossom. It could simply be through anything in the home like decorating, re-arranging interior, picking out art pieces, flower-arranging and of course, cooking and baking. It could also be a love for crafting, writing, playing a musical instrument, creating art pieces, sewing, even re-purposing old items and making them like new or dancing in your room like no one’s watching. Just be creative.
