How Creativity Can Build Resilience
Since My Life Creative was born many have asked just exactly how creativity relates to resilience.
Good question! Let's break it down.
Resilience is the ability to adapt to change, problem solve and bounce back from difficult situations. It is a skill that can be developed and a muscle that can be trained.
Creativity encompasses the ability to discover new and original ideas, connections, and solutions to problems. Creativity is the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.
WHY CREATIVITY?
According to one study published by Colin G. DeYoung and Paul J Silvia in The Journal of Positive Psychology, creativity promotes positive emotions that can help us access our ability to deal with stress and uncertainty. Furthermore, when humans are deep in the creative process our brains react similarly as if we are in a meditative state. We are giving our conscious minds a break which in turn decreases anxiety and increases feelings of calm. Encouraging creativity is one of the easiest ways parents can help kids build resilience because kids naturally create as a way of learning and expressing themselves.
Kids who are regularly creative have:
- Increased confidence in their ideas and abilities
- Increased overall positivity
- The ability to embrace mistakes as learning opportunities
- Improved problem solving skills
- Enhanced communication skills
- Increased empathy and optimism
- increased emotional regulation abilities
- An outlet to channel negative feelings and build self awareness
Guess what?! All of these attributes are directly related to building a strong sense of resilience!