Finding Your Creative Outlet

By: Jessica Lee

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A creative outlet to me is finding a hobby you enjoy doing while relieving stress and passing the time. This can be anything from physical, like painting, to mental or spiritual, like meditating. A creative outlet doesn’t necessarily have to be artistic, but rather mentally engaging and pleasant. My grandpa taught me how to find a creative outlet, and it has helped me through tough times in my life so far. Having a creative outlet is also a great way to relax and self-reflect!

Now, you might ask yourself, “How do I find my creative outlet?”. In this blog, I will provide you with three personal tips on finding a creative outlet and what helped me most from my grandpa!

The first tip that helped me as a child was to try anything and everything. When it comes to finding a hobby, it is best to try and see what you like and do not like. For example, I knew sports were not for me when I wanted to try soccer and I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest 1 minute into playing. I have also tried painting, but with my impatient personality and broad rules when it came to the canvas, it wasn’t my palette either. Until I was taken to the library and was introduced to the world of reading and writing, I discovered that I love journaling and reading fantasy books. Journaling and reading a good book wasn’t only fun, but self-fulfilling. Think of it as the Goldilocks principle!

My second tip is to choose something that challenges you. Although it is great to find something you are naturally good at and become an expert at it, it is a different path when you pick something that you can build from the bottom up. Once you do, when you take a step back and look at how far you have come; it can be both self-rewarding and gratifying to see your personal growth.

My last tip is to avoid feeling tied down to one creative outlet. If you have tried many things and have enjoyed each and every one of them, there is no reason to limit deeper exploration into each field. Having many creative outlets is never a bad thing. It can be good to jump from one activity to another depending on your mood or if you get tired or uninspired from one creative outlet.

I hope my tips have inspired you even a little bit to venture out there and find something that challenges you while finding joy in doing it. Having a creative outlet is a great way to wind down and spend quality time with yourself while reflecting and taking a breath from the world around you. Have fun finding your creative outlet and think of the discovery as a journey itself!