How Arts and Crafts Is Saving Me

So it's no secret that I'm rebuilding my life from rock bottom. It's not easy. Especially because trying to build a business with nothing is kinda like trying to brush your teeth while eating a cookie... There is a reason we all know the saying: You have to have money to make money.

So I started beading. Making pretty necklaces. I also started creating collages of the pics and memorabilia I collected over my life (to get it more displayable, but mostly to take up less space for easy packing). I even started sewing. In a nutshell I started creating stuff. Being creative.

So first thing that happens while we create is we get a hit of dopamine. The feel good hormone. Which is important with the whole feeling happier thing... definitely good for depression and anxiety. 

The part that has saved me the most has been (as per the words of Psychology Today): Creativity is closely linked to what folks have called “divergent thinking.”

In case you don't know the word divergent means: tending to be different or develop in different directions. 

This divergent thinking helped me come up with a way to raise the money I need to be able to start up a business, without having to personally come up with the cash injection I need to get the equipment before hand. 

My brain on arts and crafts has helped me more than searching the interwebs for how to make money this, or monetize that, or how to bootstrap a business. 

I had the idea of getting pledges for my services, then having everyone pay at once so I can get the equipment I need, and then I have these people as my first clients, who can then recommend my services and then become my first line of advertising.

It took me 3 days to get this done!!!

A couple of years of struggle at rock bottom, hearing idea's from others, listening to motivational talks (believe me the amount of motivators out there is HUGE - especially when you're down on your luck), and all it took was a couple of weeks of arts and crafts to get the solution I needed. To get out the box enough to come up with my plan.

I have always loved arts and crafts. My kids too! Our usual M.O. is to paint, create, sew, cut, stick and craft our way to making stuff as often as possible.

Our kids in nursery school and early primary years have a special focus on their art creations, because we all know they learn different skills from art (such as hand eye coordination, fine motor control, creativity, problem solving skills). Then as they get bigger and progress through the grades the focus on art drops, and they are inundated with homework and text books. By adulthood very few of us allow our creativity free reign.

There are definitely creative people out there. One just needs to look at the creative solutions to various problems that keep popping up on social media to see this.

My thoughts this week are going to be what can I make? I am going to make creativity as important a part of my life as exercise or eating is. Because let's face it, how else can we change our life without changing what we do? And honestly I can think of worse things to do to change my brain than making pretty necklaces.