A Week’s Worth of Journaling Prompts: Expanding Creativity 7

Everyone is born creative — it’s human nature. As we grow and become socialized, we learn that “creative” is generally a word used to describe artists and musicians and craftspersons. People with “talent.” Probably not us.

At some point during our lives, though, we discover that creativity is a much broader concept. It’s about doing something in a new way, producing something novel or different, or finding an elegant solution to a complicated problem. Perhaps we’re beginning to express ourselves in traditionally creative ways, such as writing and art. We begin to suspect that we might be creative after all and start to think in those terms.

We discover that creativity is fun, but that it’s also hard work, and we want to know how to build our creative musculature, so we can take on more, do more.

This week’s journaling prompts and activities are designed to help you tap into your natural creativity.

1. Remember a happy moment in your life. Allow yourself to be bathed in that memory, so that it makes you smile and you feel the glow of those happy emotions. Remember another happy moment. And another. Then complete the following sentence: I am most happy when …
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2. Do a word association with the word “creativity.” (Write down the first word that pops into your head after “creativity,” then write down the next word, and so on, until no more words come to mind.) Then, create a word and image collage. Write the words on separate pieces of paper (or cut them from magazines) and pair them with images. Paste these words and images on a page of your journal, or something larger if you prefer, in whatever arrangement feels good to you.
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3. Get angry! That’s right, let that righteous indignation about the political or economic situation take over. Or your anger over being mistreated by someone, or over the mistreatment of someone else. Get furious, and write your fury onto the page.
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4. Make spontaneous sounds. Make noise with your body. Claps, slaps, hoots, and hollers. Anything but words. Do this for at least two minutes. Then, sit down and freewrite about the experience.
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5. Make a list of all your positive attributes. Are you a gifted cook? Musician? Accountant? Are you healthy and fit? When you are done, at the top of the page write “Gifts.” Write about how you can use each of these gifts in a new way (new to you).
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6. Take a nap. Okay. This one’s not really a journaling prompt. But I guarantee that nap taking enhances creativity!
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7. Take time by yourself for yourself. Make a nurturing date with yourself this week. It can be as simple as taking the time to go to the park, appreciate a full moon, or you could get a massage, take yourself out to dinner. The “what” is up to you. After you’ve gone on that date, write in your journal about your time with yourself. What did you think about? What was your emotional state before and afterwards?

Okay, run along now and have fun! But be sure to report back and let us know what happened.

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Image Credit: Tim Hamilton