How Self-Care, Mental Health And Confidence Promotes Creativity

Post by Amanda Kerin, Entrepreneur and Founder of Creative Women’s Mastermind

I often hear female entrepreneurs say, “I’m not a creative type” and then witness them come up with brilliant ideas off the cuff when casually talking about their business. The truth is, we all have the capacity to be creative, but many of us lack the confidence to trust our own ideas. We can doubt them and fall into a negative spin. That’s why it can often help to sense check ideas with like-minded women.

I’m a strong believer that by investing in self-care and emotional health, you naturally grow in confidence – which in turn encourages you to have faith to be creative. Without the necessary emotional building blocks to believe in yourself, you will struggle with the creative process – and this could mean many thousands of brilliant ideas across the world are being lost each day!

The Layers Of Creativity

Before I continue, it’s firstly important to define what creativity is. Many business leaders I speak to don’t think they’re creative, because they see creativity as something designers, artists, and crafters do. They feel they need to physically make or produce something in order to think of themselves as creative. There is no doubt those who work within these industries are creative, but the art of creativity doesn’t start and stop there.

Creativity has multiple layers, from a simple thought, to sharing that thought and consolidating it into an idea with someone else, to building and broadening out that idea into something that’ll innovate and truly benefit a consumer. Creativity starts as a single thought and curiosity to explore that thought further, therefore we all have it in us to be creative! It’s about letting go and trusting in your own ability.

Having confidence is key to being creative, and you can help increase your confidence from practicing self-care and building on your emotional health.

Meditation

For me, I have to start my day with 30-40 minutes of quiet time to myself. I meditate for 10-15 mins in a very regular way. I don’t park my bum on a cushion and sit cross-legged to on it because that isn’t me. Sitting on the bed with my phone and headphones listening to a meditation app, works for me. You’ve got to find what works for you. If you can manage 10 minutes a day to be with just yourself and be quiet or reflect, you’re off to a great start and you can build from there.

Visualisation

I also spend 10 minutes visualizing my life and my business. I’ve been doing this for years with audio visualisations and also vision boards. I make the time to do them because they work. They are incredibly powerful because your brain doesn’t recognise what’s real and what’s not. So many things have come true for me. It can be a test of patience sometimes though but so worth the time investment.

Journaling

I sometimes journal when things come up for me, as it’s a great way of getting to the root of what is going on that has made you think or behave in a certain way, usually in a negative way or have been triggered emotionally.

You can explore this by putting pen to paper and asking yourself questions to dig further and further into the belief or experience that made you react, think or behave in a certain way. Once you get to the root of the problem, it’s like a light-bulb going off and that’s when you can really get to work on the problem.

We all have layers of society conditioning and it takes work to get through each layer, but it’s so worth it and journaling is great for this. Don’t underestimate the power of counselling and or coaching, I’ve spent hours with both and it’s the best thing I’ve done to turn my life around.

Relax And Switch Off

I still do my practice on weekends, although I freestyle more with my time. I try and spend my weekends, particularly at the moment during Covid19, either baking, cooking or relaxing by reading or some at home pampering.

Colouring books, puzzles and board games are also a great way to relax and switch off the mind chatter too, especially during the weeks! I love old school activities, they keep you from picking up the screen out of habit! I also really like connecting socially with my friends, although that’s been different living in the mountains and particularly at the moment – I’ve been running a few online pub quizzes!

Isolation

We’re human beings and designed to connect with other humans, whether that’s online or in real life, as it supports emotional health.  Entrepreneurs and women in business who are working from home can experience isolation and loneliness – which in turn has a knock on effect to their business and income.

To put it in perspective, isolation is still used as a torture method in some countries. It is so important to reach out if you’re feeling lonely and isolated.  However it can feel a really difficult task, especially if you’re feeling miserable. Dig deep and find the courage to send a message or make a phone call.  Start with those people you know love you and try and be honest about how you’re feeling. Try and remove the ‘I’m fine’ mask and sink into being a real human.

When I moved from my hometown of Bristol to be with my partner Chris, a busy pilot living in the French Alps and based out of Geneva, Switzerland, I too felt incredibly isolated whilst he was away working long shifts and didn’t have a support network of friends and family close by. My confidence was affected and I felt paralysed in making decisions and doubted everything I created.

Community & Connection

Take it from me, you need community and human connection in your day. You need to interact, laugh and still get stuff done with your confidence and mental and emotional health intact. That’s why I launched Creative Women’s Mastermind – a global community for female entrepreneurs working from a home office.  This gives women around the world the opportunity to connect with other like-minded women and actually have company in their day.

It’s a supportive community where friendship and relationships are built.  The benefits that come from that are incredible support collaborations, getting stuff done to grow their business.

By investing in self-care and your emotional health, you will grow in confidence which in turn will stimulate your creativity. If you doubt your ability to be creative, you will lack confidence and this circles back to self-care.

To help, I’ve popped some easy-to-follow self-care tips below to boost your confidence – and get those creative juices flowing!

Take Care Of Yourself And Commit To It Daily (No Matter What!)

Take time out to plan your daily and weekly schedule. In that schedule, make sure you dedicate 30-60 minutes to yourself every day. If that needs to be in 15/20 or 30 minute blocks, that’s ok.  It’s just important to take the first step and begin.

The important thing is to find your groove and commit to self-care practice every day. It may take a bit of tweaking to discover exactly what works for you, but I can promise you it’s worth doing.

Take Time Out Regularly To Get Perspective

It can be easy to get caught up in work, hide behind your screen all day and lose sight of what’s really important.  This can fuel a distorted perspective, especially if you’re leading up to a big launch or campaign moment.

Make time to have fun with your girlfriends.  Do something creative that’s not related to work and take the time out you need away from your business. Switch off and when you come back, you’ll have gained some perspective naturally.

Listen To Your Intuition

Appreciate this sounds obvious, but I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard my peers say they ignored their intuition, only for it to come back and bite them in the bum!

I know because I’ve been there many times myself. Try not to ignore your intuition – you know that nagging feeling in your gut or those voices you hear. They may be a faint whisper, but it’s important to try and listen. Take action on it and try not to do the opposite, because your intuition is there for a reason.

Plan, Prioritise And Have Fun In Your Working Day!

Keep your every day To Do list realistic.  Prioritise the essential tasks that need to get done that day and aim to have fun with them. Aim to accomplish 2-5 tasks per day on your business (depending on what they are).

And if you’re working at home in isolation, remember the importance of human interaction.  Put time aside to make contact with your friends and family at a convenient time for both sides. Be pro-active and reach out, don’t wait for people to contact you.

We’re all busy and we all have to make time for what’s important. If you’re looking to meet other like-minded women in business, you can sign up to the free co-working sessions I run on Creative Women’s Mastermind.