Is it possible to still be creative after becoming a mom? Do you sometimes feel like you only have just enough brain cells left? After pregnancy, birth and the relentless days of early motherhood, you’re just trying to survive much less tap into creativity.
Every parenting season is different. I’m currently in the season of preschoolers. I am finally gaining enough breathing room to tap back into that creative side that got lost somewhere along the way between pregnancy heartburn and toddler tantrums. I heard a really fantastic quote recently from one of my favorite authors about motherhood and creativity
It’s so hard for women, especially women, to find creative time because in order to be creative you have to go so deep, you have to let yourself sink away and mothers are so used to living on the surface because at any moment someone could need you-Glennon Doyle Melton
Creativity requires tapping into a vulnerable side that typically doesn’t see the light of day and a giving of self. As a mother, I usually end the day feeling like I don’t have one more ounce of self to give since it has been poured into my kids all day long. I also feel like I need to constantly be on red alert to meet the physical and emotional needs of my kids. But it is so important to tap into that creativity that is buried deep within your essential self. It fills your soul and helps you live as the best version of yourself. In turn, you’re the best mother you can be. Some of the things that are helping me fuel that creativity right now:
1. Ask yourself- Who were you before you were a mother?
Who were you when you weren’t responsible for guiding, discipline and feeding these tiny humans and trying every day to grow them into big adults who are hopefully fairly well-adjusted and don’t need therapy. 😂 What were you passionate about? What types of things lit your soul on fire as a small child, a teenager or a young adult?
I loved to write as a kid and I’ve realized as an adult that the more that I lean into writing and flex that creative muscle the more fulfilled I feel.
2. Give yourself permission to create
There is a lot of mom guilt tied up in doing something that isn’t either specifically for our children or making money for our family. To create, simply for creativity’s sake, seems selfish. But it is so essential for the wellness of our souls to have that creative outlet
It’s tough for me to set aside the mom guilt but I like to think of my creative side similar to exercise and clean eating. I do both of those things to nourish my body. I exercise my creativity to nourish my soul.
3. Give yourself time to create.
For most of us, that means silence and undivided attention which are rare commodities in motherhood. Maybe space for you means getting up earlier than your kids or having your husband or a babysitter take them for an hour or two on the weekends. Whatever that space looks like for you in this season of life just take it, even if it’s only 20 minutes.
When my kids are in school for 2 hours in the afternoon I often take that time to write or go out to my garage shop and do some woodworking. I didn’t always have this chunk of time so when they were smaller I worked during naptimes or often after bedtime.
4. Ignore the opinions of others
You create for you, not for anyone else. As long as you aren’t being neglectful of the rest of your life there isn’t any reason why you tapping into your creativity should be anyone else’s business. Naysayers will always be around. You just have to learn to tune them out.
I drug my feet on starting this blog for over a year because I was so worried about what others would think if it wasn’t perfect. I wasted time when I could’ve been doing something that makes me happy worrying about how others felt.
It’s tough trying to juggle how to be both a mother and the woman who you were before kids. But it is so essential to remember that woman deep inside because you tapping into her creativity will feed your soul. How are you tapping into your creativity?
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