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Unlock your inner artist: Embrace creativity for a fulfilling and joyful life journey

Unlock your inner artist: Embrace creativity for a fulfilling and joyful life journey
Louise Janovsky
By Louise Janovsky
16 Apr 2025
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Louise Janovsky speaks of creativity that it is less about the creation itself and more about the way it makes us feel. Here are five tips to help you rediscover your unique creativity.

Creativity is about expressing ourselves, for enjoyment, in ways that need to make sense only to us. When we neglect to make time to create, life may start to feel a bit dull and drab, without us realising why. 

Creativity can result in catharsis and calm, as well as flows of invigorating purpose. When we allow ourselves to practise and persevere with inventiveness and originality, we open the gates of giving, both to ourselves and to others. So how do we begin?

Many of us may have the perception that creativity is for artists, writers and designers. We think that the adjective of being “creative” must surely be reserved for those with a clear and recognised talent. But the judgement of good creativity is subjective, and it is the act of creation itself that holds so much for us. 

Should creativity lessen with adulthood?


Do you allow yourself to be creative? And should creativity and play lessen with adulthood? From today, you can choose to consciously curate ways to explore and expand your creativity and allow it to add a new dimension to your life. To create something is simply to make something that did not exist before. What will you decide to make?

You can create a meal, a garden, a caring note, a sketch, a story, a piece of furniture, a table setting, a painting, a flower arrangement, a party, an ordered cupboard, a sport manoeuvre, a strategy, a solution, a game, a song, a blanket, an interesting conversation, a sculpture, a list, a travel plan, or a workout. The point is less about completion (although if you enjoy the act enough, you will find that you finish easily) and far more about the way you felt during the act of creation. The joy of making something new can be deeply satisfying. 

While you may begin with an end goal in mind, you never quite know if the end product will match the initial idea. Your creation may be something completely different from what you planned or expected and may be surprising and even energising.

If the creative act itself pleases you, you will find that you keep returning to it; rewarded by both the practice, and the variety of results that accumulate from your effort.

To help you rediscover your unique creativity, here are five reflection questions. Write your answers in your diary, your journal, or on a piece of paper or type them to yourself in an email or document. 

  • What have you had fun making in the past, and was that planned or happenstance?

  • Make a list of three things you would like to make. They don’t have to be things that you make well — just that you know you would have fun creating.

  • If you had to plan a fun date for yourself, where would you go and what would you do?

  • What areas of creativity interest you? Consider how you can spend more time in these areas, appreciating and allowing yourself to be inspired by the creativity of others. Anything goes here: movies; art galleries; buildings and architecture; listening to music; cooking and restaurants; nature and hiking; business and strategies; sport and hobbies.

  • If you had to take a class in something that used your creative side, what would it be?


Read through your answers a couple of times, and then take out your diary or calendar. What can you schedule creatively for yourself over the next week, and month?  Use actual time slots here rather than listing your planned items. It may feel overwhelming to try to find the time for something that seems indulgent, but consider how much time all of us spend indulging our lazy side by scrolling on our phones. Just 15 minutes less of this a day creates 90 minutes of time in a week in which we can explore our creativity and end up with something to show ourselves for our efforts.

Read more: How to unlock your creativity — even if you see yourself as a conventional thinker

When we create, we would do well to remember that we need not be making something that has to be judged by others. We can make things for the pure joy of the actions they involve, and our creations do not necessarily have to be shared for approval or rejection. Each of us has creativity in us that we can choose to recognise and nurture, and perhaps the point is in the acts of making and creating rather than the presentation and judgement of what we have made. We can decide to revel in the process, and relish the pleasure and gratification of bringing things into existence that were not there before.

Time spent creating is never wasted — it is an exploration of your possibilities and capabilities and a remarkable form of self-appreciation. Being creative is an opportunity to cover ground, and experience the enjoyment of growth while being fully in the present moment. Our creative process and results need to be validated only by ourselves; and it simply needs to be begun, enjoyed, and ended… and hopefully begun again.

Maya Angelou said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

Create time in your weeks, and in your life, for acts of creation. They are outlets for expression, and mainstays for satisfaction. You are uniquely creative. In your own life, there is no one better placed than you to creatively solve your own challenges, and to create newness that neutralises negativity.

So begin; create… and enjoy! DM

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