About Her Lifestyle

Many Moms focus on fostering their children’s creativity and often forget about their own. Do you think you’re not really the creative type? Well, you’re probably not the only one. One study pinpointed the time in life when we start to lose our creativity: Grade 4. How sad is it that at around 9 years old you probably began to daydream less and lose your sense of wonder?

The good news is that you can build that creative confidence again and, being a Mom, you already have an advantage, because the best way to go about being creative again is to think like a child.

Many of us grow out of our creativity. Growing up does give you great tools to use in enhancing the creative process you were an expert at when younger, such as being able to judge, select and build on the best of the ideas you produce. The problem most adults have is in producing those ideas. For that part of the creative process you need to practice being “young in mind,” when everything in the world was new and interesting and worth exploring. Most importantly:

• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or fail
• Don’t care how others will judge your ideas or work
• Don’t be afraid to not know.

Creativity is basically the art of making connections, a useful skill. Rediscovering your creative energies can enhance your day-to-day life and is just good exercise for your brain.

Did you know that learning a second language, whether from birth or later in life, can prevent against Alzheimer’s? Your brain has to do all sorts of gymnastics to keep your two or more languages functional, something that helps it manage much better when assaulted by such a disease. Part of being creative is learning something new everyday, whether it’s a language, a skill or reading up on a new topic.

To get you started, watch these two entertaining and interesting Ted talks: One called “Schools kill creativity,” which may help you help your children to keep their sense of wonder, and another called “How to build your creative confidence.”

How do you get your creative juices flowing?