Why Creativity Is a Form of Self-Care (And Why We Often Put It Last)

I’ve been reflecting on how many of us struggle with our relationship with creativity. We want to create. We’ve enjoyed it in the past and often say we value it as part of our lives. Yet, we struggle to prioritize it.

There are many reasons why this could be, but one stands out to me: Creativity as a form of self-care.

When we engage in creative acts, we give ourselves an outlet to express thoughts and feelings that we may not be able to articulate otherwise. Whether it’s through painting, writing, or any other creative outlet, we like the way it makes us feel—even when the result isn’t perfect. Yet, when creativity is approached as self-care, it often falls into the same trap as other self-care activities: we place it in the “should” category and shame ourselves when we don’t follow through. Our good intentions remain just that, and we never carve out the time.

The Overwhelmed Caretaker

Take, for example, the woman who juggles a career, household responsibilities, and possibly even caregiving. She knows creativity brings her joy—whether it’s journaling or crafting—but it’s always the first thing to go when time gets tight. She might say, “I’ll get to it when everything else is done,” but everything else is never done. Creativity becomes just another to-do on an already overwhelming list, and when it’s framed this way, it feels like more work rather than the act of self-care it truly is.

This isn’t just anecdotal. Research shows that women, in particular, often feel guilt when taking time for themselves, which can lead to burnout and a lack of personal fulfillment. According to the American Psychological Association, 70% of women report feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities, leaving little time for self-care activities like creative hobbies.

The Hustle Trap

Now let’s think about the entrepreneur or career-driven individual. This person may set aside time for creativity, but only if it serves a business goal. Their art becomes part of their "brand" or business growth strategy. Over time, the joy they once experienced from creativity may diminish as it becomes solely about achieving external results.

This happens a lot in hustle culture. A study from Harvard Business Review explains how turning a passion into work can strip the joy from those activities, leading to burnout and creative exhaustion​Sources: (Harvard Business School)​(Harvard Business School).

While it might seem productive to transform your creativity into a side hustle or a content machine, this often removes the pure joy and curiosity that creative play can bring. When we only create for external validation or monetization, creativity shifts from self-care to yet another obligation, another item on the to-do list.

Managing Your Passion for Longevity

The truth is, creativity in its purest form should be an act of self-care. It’s not about the end result but the process of engaging with your own thoughts, emotions, and imagination. However, if we never prioritize this for ourselves—whether it’s because we’re busy caring for others or because we’re trying to produce results—we miss out on the deep restorative power creativity offers.

Writer Elizabeth Gilbert talks about this in Big Magic, suggesting that creative living isn’t about productivity, but about “choosing curiosity over fear.” It’s about giving yourself permission to create for the sake of creating, rather than for an audience or an outcome. This perspective allows creativity to become a tool for self-exploration and joy, not just something that delivers results.

Putting Creativity Back into Self-Care

If you’re wired for practicality and responsibility, it’s tempting to put everything—and everyone—else first. But if you don’t make time for creativity, you might end up feeling disconnected and burned out. It’s time to reframe how we see creative acts: not as a luxury, but as a necessity for mental and emotional well-being.

What would happen if you gave yourself permission to create without the pressure of a perfect outcome? If you took even 10 minutes a day to write, doodle, or play an instrument—just for you, not for Instagram or a portfolio? Imagine how much lighter, more refreshed, and more connected to yourself you might feel.

Reclaiming creativity as a form of self-care means shifting your perspective on what it’s for. It’s not a task to be completed, and it’s not always about the result. Creativity, at its best, is a way to care for your inner world, to let your imagination play, and to express parts of yourself that might otherwise go unnoticed. It’s time to stop putting your creativity last and start making it part of your self-care practice.

What have your experiences been in regards to creativity as a form of self-care?

Lost your creative Mojo and feeling burned out?

Talent isn’t enough.

The first time I heard that statement, I don’t think I really agreed, until I took a closer look.

I had seen plenty of talented people have lots of opportunities that seemed to elude me. But I also have witnessed fellow art school students who were the top of the class talent-wise, crash and burn, leaving their art and creativity behind completely.

And all these years later, I have seen the same for many successful professional creative people.

It’s entirely possible to seem to have it all from an outward appearance, but to feel creatively bankrupt inside.

• You can have an impressive client list.

• You can have tons of awards and accolades.

• You can be postured publicly for success.

• And be utterly frustrated and dissatisfied.

I worked with fellow creatives in large advertising agencies with huge global corporate clients you would know. So much creative energy was leveraged for the clients that nothing was left for their personal expression. The clients were king, leaving them feeling like there was no room for self-expression or creative freedom in their life. Creating significant work seemed elusive.

It’s easy to build an empire that you can’t escape from. The never-ending cycle of creative pitches, client kiboshes, followed by frustration and discouragement. Rinse and repeat.

And it’s even more devastating when that empire is yanked away from you, because the powers that be decide on “creatively flushing the system” or the economy turns upside-down. I witnessed this up close in my first full-time creative position. Wide sweeping firing at all levels of the corporation in order to get "new blood." Talent couldn’t save anyone.

While not everything you create is meant for public consumption or has a place within client-driven projects, what I am saying is that we need our own creative space. No clients. No agendas. No financial pressures. A place where we are free to play, experiment and make mistakes without occupational repercussions.

While everyone is clamoring for the latest and greatest creative ideas, it’s easy to copy the culture around us while never diving deep enough to find something connected to what we uniquely have to offer. But here’s the honest truth: if you don’t take the time to cultivate your own voice, no one is going to do it for you.

This has all been part of my own creative journey. And as I talk with fellow creative people, I know I’m not alone. Does this resonate?

That’s a part of why I launched the Daily Creative Habit Membership. It's a place to invest in YOU and your creativity. To hone your voice, style, see results and creative transformation through consistent work. All in the context of a supportive creative community, and a live monthly call.

If you're ready to reignite your passion, discover your unique voice, and build a wellspring of creative inspiration, head over to the Daily Creative Habit Membership to learn more about or join today:

JOIN NOW

4 Strategies To Revive Your Creativity After A Bout Of Stress

Let's be honest: the world hasn't been an easy place to live in lately. Soaring gas prices, general inflation, and nearly two full years of a pandemic has nearly everyone in America experiencing unprecedented amounts of stress. Though you may think this'll pass, it's likely that your body won't see things in the same way.

That's right: stress can negatively impact our bodies in lasting ways. Online health resource SymptomFind explains that stress can put you in "fight-or-flight" mode. This triggers the production of inflammatory hormones that can put your health at risk in the long run.

You may even find that stress can kill your drive to create. As an artist, this can be especially harmful. Fortunately, there are ways of relieving stress, reviving your creativity, and even keeping yourself healthy in the long run. So below are a few strategies you can try out.

Create a conducive environment

Have you ever noticed that people tend to work better at coffee shops? The lighting, soft music, and low chatter of diners combine to create an ambiance perfect for productivity. The same principle applies to creativity. A workspace needs to motivate you — and if it's not doing that at a time when your stress levels are high, it's probably time for a revamp. On our blog, contributor Wendy Dressler mentioned you can go beyond a fresh coat of paint by dressing up your walls with art to inspire you. You can also try rearranging some furniture, organizing your desk, adding a few plants, and making sure that you're getting an ample amount of natural light.

Socialize

By getting in touch with family, friends, and fellow artists, you can do more than just fish for new and inspiring creative ideas. By doing so, it helps release a brain chemical called oxytocin, which this 2021 article from Scientific Journals explains is linked to improved creative thinking. What's more, the release of oxytocin into the bloodstream also has some anti-stress effects. What you get is the spread of a chemical that won't just offer you stress relief, but allows you to easily find creative ways to express ideas that are shared with and received from others.

Go for a walk

If you're more of an introvert but want to get that same burst of inspiration, walking is a great alternative — and a wonderful solution to this creativity-stress dilemma all on its own. This exposes you to a wide variety of stimuli that can fire your neurons and get you going. Walking at a comfortable pace in the sun while breathing in that fresh air also releases endorphins, another feel-good chemical that has stress-relieving effects. Researchers from Stanford even found that walking can boost your creativity by over 60%. By losing yourself in your surroundings and noticing things you haven't before, you're sure to find creativity knocking on your mental doorstep.

Indulge in some self-care

Don't underestimate the power of an all-out self-care session. Enhance your bubble bath with candles, a glass of wine, and a good book. When getting a massage, hit the sauna too. Finally let yourself try that skincare routine with more than 10 steps in it. This should be enough to give your brain a creative reset. You can even immerse yourself in crafts that need creativity on a level you don't really need to think about, like knitting or baking. These activities should do wonders for your stress levels as well.

What does Nine Consecutive Years of Daily Art Look Like?

Every year since I have embarked on this 365 day art making journey, I mark the passing of another year with a college of images, all created from that year.

If you’re not familiar with my story on how I came back to my art after a ten year absence and depression, you can catch up here.

Creating and sharing these images are a way for me to track my daily creative habit, and celebrate my wins.

I’ve also recorded a Creative Chats podcast episode of nine insights I have gained through my nine years of daily art making. You can take a listen here.

If you’re interested in establishing your own creative consistency, I’d love to have you join us in our free facebook group Daily Creative Habit!

And now…. Here’s what all 9 years together looks like!

I’ve been sharing my art for free everyday for the past 9 years and will continue to do so. If you’ve been enjoying it and feel like tossing in a few coins in the ol’ tip jar, you can do so below :)

Start with what’s in your hand

Start with what’s in your hand.

It just might be seeds of greatness, but to you, right now, it looks like something so small and useless.

Don’t be so enamored by huge dreams that you don’t use what is before you today. Remember what seeds are. They are beginnings. They are carriers of dreams, hopes, and our desires to make great things that can impact the world around us.

But if we never plant them, they won’t be able to do what they’re supposed to do. They won’t take root. They won’t grow.

They need to go into the dark, cold ground, where sometimes it seems like we’ve buried the dead. But they are waiting for the right time to burst forth with new life, and fruit.

Don’t give up. Don’t wait for the perfect time. Don’t despise humble beginnings. Use what’s in your hand right now and plant it where you are.

Don't Create Alone

Being a creative can be a lonely path.

There’s no one keeping you showing up to create but yourself.

Wouldn’t you like to be able to consistently show up to create your art? (Instead of flirting with it)

That’s why I created the Daily Creative Habit community.

The Daily Creative Habit is a private Facebook group where Artists, Makers, and Creatives interested in creating more consistently, and growing in their creative practice gather and share.

I’ve learned a lot after returning to my art after a 10 year hiatus, via embarking on a 365 day daily art making journey that has lasted 8+ years and is still going. (Never missed a day!) When you show up daily, over time you come to discover your voice, style, passion, and unlock key principles for your creative journey.

The goal here is equipping you with ideas, methods and community that help you establish a daily creative habit, so you can gain traction in your creative projects. It’s important for others to celebrate your success, to help others, and to ask questions in the group setting so everyone can gain some clarification and validation.

This community consists of visual artists, writers, performers, makers, hobbyists and professionals, and anyone “creating.” This space was created as a safe place to share thoughts, exchange and explore ideas, and get some encouragement when ya wanna share something exciting in your creative journey. Comment, share your wins, ask questions, learn, and take action! By sharing what’s working for you in your creative practice, you will undoubtedly inspire a fellow creative to take action in their lives.

Simply visit www.DailyCreativeHabit.com where you’ll be forwarded to the Facebook group page. Just answer the 3 questions, and request to join.

I hope to see you there!

What Eight Years of Consecutive Daily Art Can Teach You

It’s my eight year anniversary of creating art every single day. 

I never missed one. Not holidays. Not vacation. Not sickness.

Some of us can’t say we’ve even showered every day of the year. :)

So how did I get here?

The simple answer is one day at a time. I refer to them as marble moments.

I have a jar of 365 marbles on my desk that I use when speaking or teaching. It represents one piece of art for every day of the year.

A single a marble by itself doesn’t look like much. But what of you grouped seven of them together? Then add seven more? It’s by adding time increments on a daily basis that leads to a daily creative habit.

But instead of talking about principles and methods I’ve learned along this journey (like finding my style and voice as an artist, gaining confidence & momentum, refining my craft, unbelievable opportunities…) I’d rather tell you the story of WHY I began this journey. (If you’d like to read an older post check out my year five post.)

After all, you might be thinking, “that’s great that you have accomplished this, but what does your experience really have to do with me?” Perhaps, a lot.

But I need to bring you back to the beginning….

I found myself sobbing and broken on the side of this hiking trail in upstate New York during a retreat for ministry leaders. Life had unraveled and ironically, I felt emotionally like a knotted up and twisted ball of twine. I couldn’t determine what the issue was, and so couldn’t “fix it”. Which only made matters worse.

After some counseling, it was determined I had been suffering from a form of mild depression called Dysthymia. A full time ministry role where I held responsibilities outside my gifting and a misplaced identity in my work only compounded my problem.

I found myself needing to leave the church I helped plant. My wife and I had to sell our home. We didn’t know what would come next. Ultimately, it was a move out of state. What should have seemed like a fresh start, felt more like intense loss. We lost our house, left our friends and some family, left our faith community & jobs. It was during this transition that my father was also diagnosed with cancer, and quickly passed the second week into my new job.

I had often wondered to myself “is this it? is this what life looks like now?” It felt as rock bottom as I could imagine. And climbing out of depression seemed like a slippery slope, when circumstances threatened to weigh me down.

During this time I began to journal daily, intensely listening and praying. I didn’t know how to do much else other than dumping my emotions like modern day Psalms. Every day, I had just enough energy to keep showing up.

Through this process, I began to have this internal prompting that was calling me to return to art. Not the graphic design work that was part of my previous life’s employment, but rather a getting back to my roots, tactile experience of handling some art supplies that I hadn’t interacted with in since the days of art school. But how could I start creating art again when I had taken a 10 year absence and was battling depression?

My journey back started when, on a whim, I took a printmaking class at a local art center. While attending this 3 week course, I was turned onto a book called “The Creative License” by Danny Gregory. Little did I know this would stoke the internal creative fires within, that were dormant for far too long.

I decided to try my hand at 365 days of drawings and painting. Danny Gregory wrote “a five minute drawing is better than none”. Somehow these words were liberating. Surely I could manage five minutes, even if I had no clue how (or if) I could get to 365 days.

I was off and running, or more like stumbling. It was forced and awkward at first. My very first drawing was of a Starbucks coffee cup (pictured below). I both hate this drawing, and love it.

I hate it because it’s embarrassing. It’s a sucky drawing of a coffee cup. But I love this drawing because it signifies a rebirth. A phoenix moment. The moment I decided to push past my fear, those voices that told me I couldn’t draw because I couldn’t draw photorealistic renderings. The moment I choose to get back to my art because I needed it, for my soul.

Day one, year one of my 365 day daily art making practice.

I kept going. At first, filling pages and pages of my Moleskine sketchbooks, then branching out to individual pieces on canvas, paper, and even creating digitally as my confidence grew.

Early on, I decided to post my daily work on Instagram as a way of keeping accountable, and even posting the work, that in my opinion, was sub par. It wasn’t about creating “masterpieces”. I wouldn’t let that perfectionist voice discourage me from keeping on my journey.

The more I kept going, the more I felt life returning. Depression started to fade. Drive and passion filled its place.

Beyond the work itself, this journey has changed me. It has given me more confidence in creating and sharing my art. It has helped me identify my style and tools I like to work. It has connected me with new people and opportunities. It has challenged me in ways I’m not sure I can really express properly. As I kept taking the right next step, it evolved into steps of who I was created to be.

But it’s not all about me. It’s about you too. 

My experiences and journey is only really redeemed if it serves to help others. So it’s not just my story, but ours.

Through this journey I discovered my deeper why — to tell stories and connect through my art. While the expression and themes of my creating may vary, it’s always with the intent of making a connection with others.

All eight years of daily consecutive art making.

What is it for you? 

What have you wished you could accomplish? No matter how hopeless your circumstances may seem, keep showing up. Do that thing you need to because it’s life giving. It will give life to you, and then through you. Start where you are right now.

And to celebrate my eight years, I’m inviting you into an opportunity. I wanted to offer something practical, not just encouraging words.

So, i’m launching one-on-one hourly coaching, and a separate mastermind group for creative people (Artists, Makers, and Content Creators as I say on my podcast). Anyone who is ready to start taking action in their creative pursuits.

Perhaps it’s:

• Writing and self-publishing a book

• Launching a podcast

• Creating a body of work with painting, drawing or visual art

• Establishing your own daily creative habit

• Getting help with personal branding

Whatever it looks like for you, I can help you identify some next steps.

In our one-on-one hourly coaching, we can deep dive into your current creative struggle and formulate an action plan. We’ll meet via zoom and you’ll even get a video and audio recording of our call for easy reference.

For the Creative Action Takers mastermind (yes - CATs) we’ll meet weekly for 12 weeks to discuss each members creative problem, resulting in an action plan in the context of group think-tank and accountability.

And for those who want to dive even deeper, I’m offering an Elite package that combines the power of the mastermind and the personal one-on-one coaching.

You can apply for your coaching and mastermind spots by filling out the form. It’s first come, first served. Spots are limited. Application does not guarantee a spot.

Your Day One is waiting.

What could it look like for you?

3 of My Current Favorite Creative Podcasts – Have You Listened to Any of These?

Everyone needs companions for the journey. But when you are starting a new business or venture (“solopreneur”) it can be pretty lonely.

That’s why I’ve found it so valuable to constantly surround myself with voices that can speak into my journey. We need to hear how others have or are dealing with a lot of the same issues we find ourselves faced with. We need the encouragement that comes with truly being understood, and the inspiration of those who have gone ahead of us.

Hearing these voices can be crucial, especially on days where we feel like giving up (We all have those days!).

In light of that, here are some of my recent favorite podcasts – so whether you’re looking for a fresh source of inspiration, education, or just plain entertainment, consider checking these out. There are tons of great podcasts out there, but these have been really meaningful to me:

Podcast 1: CREATIVE PEP TALK

Andy J Pizza

Episode number #234 9 MARKETING TACTICS TO GAIN THE TRUE FANS YOU NEED TO THRIVE NOW

Andy J Pizza is a super creative with a style all his own. He’s been in the trenches as an illustrator and creative for years. And you can glean some wisdom and insights on his podcast the Creative Pep Talk.

If you make super great creative work, the word will spread. The problem is this: will it spread as fast as you need it to, to keep the lights on? Will you run out of steam before your time has come? The solution is good marketing. In this episode I want to share the 9 pieces of advice I'd give any artist whose work isn't catching on at the rate they want it to.

If you’d like to listen here’s the link.

Podcast 2: DON'T KEEP YOUR DAY JOB

Cathy Heller

Episode #47, Season 3 - How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome

How do you build confidence to take action when you constantly feel like a fraud? Cathy shares how she's dealt with that pesky impostor syndrome, how you can feed yourself with reminders of self worth, and how to replace the unattainable goal of providing "expertise" and "perfection" with empathy and authenticity - so you can start serving the world by being your true self. If you’d like to give a listen, here’s the link.

Podcast 3: The Brand You Podcast

Mike Kim

Episode #173: How I Deal With Rejection, Every Single Day

Ah, rejection. It's inevitable that we'll face it, yet we'll do anything possible to avoid it In this episode, Mike shares a little bit about how he deals with rejection. See, we often take failure as a personal rejection. It's not. If people don't know the real you, it's not possible for them to reject the real you.

Whether you're looking to start a side­-hustle, grow your own business, or just enter into a new phase of your relationships or career -- rejection is something you can not only deal with, but overcome.

Give a listen to the episode- here’s the link.

What are some of your favorite podcasts? I’d love to hear them — especially ones you’ve been creatively challenged by. Leave a comment below!

The fabulous @jasminestar - lover her energy, spirit & joy. Yoga art #digitalart #yoga #yogaart #fitness #entrepreneur #health #art #Artist