BENEFITS OF CREATIVITY

...Relieve Stress

1. “Creative people may see stresses more as challenges that they can work to overcome rather than as stressful obstacles they can’t overcome.” Nicholas Turiano
2. “Creative people tend not to get easily flustered when faced with emotional or physical hurdle. Dr. Marvin Marshall
3. “Engagement with creative activities has the potential to contribute toward reducing stress and depression and can serve as a vehicle for alleviating the burden of chronic disease.” The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health, Heather L. Stuckey and Jeremy Nobel

...Be in a Better Mood

1.     “…there is evidence that engagement with artistic activities, either as an observer of the creative efforts of others or as an initiator of one's own creative efforts, can enhance one's moods, emotions, and other psychological states as well as have a salient impact on important physiological parameters.” "The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature" (2010) by Heather L. Stuckey (DEd) & Jeremy Nobel (MD, MPH)
2. “Improved well–being by decreasing negative emotions and increasing positive ones" The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health, Heather L. Stuckey and Jeremy Nobel
3. Studies have shown that expressing themselves through art can help people with depression, anxiety, or cancer, too. And doing so has been linked to improved memory, reasoning, and resilience in healthy older people. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-healing-power-of-art​
4. James Clear cites studies and research that demonstrate creating art decreases negative emotions, reduces stress and anxiety, and improved medical outcomes. Not only can being creative help you live longer, but it can improve your quality of health and life too. Why It’s Important to Be Creative Written,  by Courtney Carver 
5. "Communicating good feelings, beautiful and happy thoughts, and expressing your creativity, are the key to getting away from negative thoughts and stress." Elizabeth, Psychologists Explain the Benefits of Baking for Other People

...Have More Confidence

1. “Artistic self expression gives participants an identity beyond illness. I have seen the arts build confidence and community and provide hope in the midst of suffering.”
   Eva Okwonga, Peer Support Advisory Board Member for Mind and Music Workshop Leader at Music In Mind  
2. A similar study... found that those high in creative self-efficacy had more confidence about their future and ability to succeed. They were sure that their ability to come up with alternatives would aid them, no matter what problems would arise.” by         Po Bronson and Ashley Merrymanm, The Creativity Crisis
3. Creatives see failures as survivable
4. Something that helps growth
5. Risks trying new things

...Have Better Relationships

1.     “…those who do better in both problem finding and problem solving have better relationships…” It's time to recognise the contribution arts can make to health and wellbeing" (2017) by Nicola Slawson
2. An evaluation revealed a 71% decrease in feelings of anxiety and a 73% fall in depression; 76% of participants said their wellbeing increased and 69% felt more socially included.  "It's time to recognise the contribution arts can make to health and wellbeing” (2017) by Nicola Slawson
3. “In Runco’s subsequent research, those who do better in both problem-finding and problem- solving have better relationships. They are more able to handle stress and overcome the bumps life throws in their way. Po Bronson and Ashley Merrymanm, The Creativity Crisis
4. “At least one third of GP appointments are, in part, dueto isolation. Through social prescribing and community resilience programmes, creative arts can have a significant impact on reducing isolation and enabling wellbeing in communities.” Dr Jane Povey GP, Director, Creative Inspiration Shropshire Community Interest Company 

...Become a Better Problem Solver

1. "Each artistic endeavor faces some form of challenge in its creation that needs to be overcome. Without even realizing it, kids that participate in the arts are consistently being challenged to solve problems." Lisa Pillips, The Art of Problem Solving - The Artistic Edge
2. “Creativity and invention are adaptive forces which have perhaps been given too little attention in connection with problems of survival and survival training. Successful survivors describe many creative and imaginative behaviors which not only solved immediate problems for them but apparently gave them renewed energy for continued adaptation.” 
   Corporate Creativity: How Innovation and Improvement Actually Happen - Alan G. Robinson, Sam Stern
   
3. "The study showed that children from the Learning Through Art program demonstrated stronger problem solving skills in three out of six areas including “flexibility, resource recognition, and connection of ends and aims”.... Students were encouraged to make conscious choices and find multiple answers to any given problem through the creative process." Lisa Pillips, The Art of Problem Solving - The Artistic Edge
4. "Engagement in the arts offers a wonderful starting point for parents who want to develop and exercise their children’s creative problem-solving skills. It might seem counterintuitive to think of the arts as a place for critical thinking and problem solving, as we typically associate softer qualities such as appreciation of beauty, encouragement of personal expression, and nurturing talent with artistic pursuits. Elliot Eisner, a professor of education at Stanford University, offers a deeper understanding of the role of the arts in a child’s life: “The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of the large lessons kids can learn from practicing the arts is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.” Dr. Eisner’s view that the arts can be about problem solving leads us away from the idea that children’s art is only about making aesthetically pleasing objects or providing entertainment, and gives a parents a way to help children be more innovative in very simple, yet powerful ways." Katrin Oddleifson Robertson, The Arts and Creative Problem Solving
5. "The reality is that we are doing our children a great disservice by not immersing them in the arts. More and more studies are proving how children exposed to an arts curriculum demonstrate increased skills in critical thinking when compared to their peers." Lisa Pillips, The Art of Problem Solving - The Artistic Edge
6. "Artistic creations themselves are born through the solving of problems. Generally, the “problem” is how to communicate a certain emotion or idea through a piece of art or performance. To create something original you must first identify the problem, break it down, and then develop different ways to approach and learn from it." Lisa Pillips, The Art of Problem Solving - The Artistic Edge

...Be a Next Generation Leader

1. “An IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified  as the most crucial factor for future success. In fact, creativity is now seen as more important than rigor, management discipline, integrity or even vision.” The Creativity Crisis and What You Can Do About It Creativity can be cultivated, but it takes training.
2. "To sum up, it appears that we are entering a new epoch - The Age of Creativity…. The future lies open to anyone who can understand and exploit the poser of ideas and creativity, an energy that can lead both to personal self-realization and financial wellbeing…. The choice is up to each individual and to every organization - will you harness this powerful energy and lead its development, or will you just get in line and hope father the best?" The Idea Agent: The Handbook on Creative Processes, Jonals Michanek & Andreas Breiler
3. ​"My research shows that America has an increasingly limited number of individuals who are capable of finding and implementing solutions to problems the nation faces today. If this trend isn't reversed soon, America will be unable to tackle the challenges of the future." Kim, KH. The Creativity Challenge: How We Can Recapture American Innovation (Kindle Locations 191-192). Prometheus Books. Kindle Edition. 
4. “Author Daniel Pink remarked, “The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind—creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. These people...will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.” A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink 
   
5. If students leave school without knowing how to continuously create and innovate, they will be underprepared for the challenges of society and the workforce. In today’s world of global competition and task automation, innovative capacity and a creative spirit are fast becoming requirements for personal and professional success.” The National Education Association Preparing 21st Century Students for a Global Society 
6. “According to Robert Sternberg of Tufts University, “Successful individuals are those who have creative skills…” The National Education Association Preparing 21st Century Students for a Global Society
7. "We're still looking for creativity, because that can't be coded. Robotics and computers and coding actually gives you a very straight and narrow path to do down a fine course. The world we're living in today is a lot more zig zag, and people are going to be important to that equation..." Bob Moritz, How to Boost your Creativity and Problem Solving Skills

...Keep Your Brain Healthy

1. "An interesting feature of these three networks [the default, salience and executive networks] is that they typically don’t get activated at the same time…. Our results suggest that creative people are better able to co-activate brain networks that usually work separately. Our findings indicate that the creative brain is “wired” differently and that creative people are better able to engage brain systems that don’t typically work together." A new study can help us understand how creative people make unexpected connections. By Roger Beaty
2. “New cognitive research out of Germany suggests that “the production of visual art improves effective interaction” between parts of the brain. The study, conducted on a small population of newly retired individuals (28 people between the ages of 62 and 70), concludes that making art could delay or even negate age-related decline of certain brain functions.” by Katherine Brooks “Study Says Making Art Is Good For Your Brain, And We Say You Should Listen” 
3. "Recent research suggests that to stave off cognitive decline, doing creative activities may be more effective than merely appreciating creative works. A 2017 report from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging indicated that people over 70 who did crafts projects had a lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment than did those who read books. In a 2014 German study, retirees who painted and sculpted had greater improvements in spatial reasoning and emotional resilience than did a similar group who attended art appreciation classes. Harvard Women's Health Watch The Healing Power of Art
4. "The title of a recent documentary film, I Remember Better When I Paint, sums up the findings of a growing body of research into the cognitive effects of making art. The movie demonstrates how drawing and painting stimulated memories in people with dementia and enabled them to reconnect with the world. People with dementia aren't the only beneficiaries. Studies have shown that expressing themselves through art can help people with depression, anxiety, or cancer, too. And doing so has been linked to improved memory, reasoning, and resilience in healthy older people. Harvard Women's Health Watch The Healing Power of Art 
5. “Mental stimulation by participation in art classes leads to an improvement of processing speed and visuo-spatial cognition.” Does participation in art classes influence performance on two different cognitive tasks?  Schindler, Maihöfner, Bolwerk, Lang
6. “Individuals high in creativity maintain the integrity of their neural networks even into old age” Nicholas Turin

...Challenge Yourself

1. “Research shows that creative thinking involves making new connections between different regions of the brain, which is accomplished by cultivating divergent thinking skills and deliberately exposing ourselves to new experiences and to learning.” Psychology Today, The Fertile Mind
2. "Don’t dismiss creative pursuits for fear of failing at them. You almost certainly will at first. Practice is the only way to improve, so if you enjoy a form of expression, do it and do it often! Don’t be limited by a fear of failure. Instead, be motivated by a passion for expression and betterment." Overcome the fear of creative failure, Dave Gamache 
3. “Transforming the idea into a creation is much more difficult than just having a great idea.”  Kim, KH. The Creativity Challenge: How We Can Recapture American Innovation

​...Deal with Trauma

1. “The idea that creative expression can make a powerful contribution to the healing process has been embraced in many different cultures. Throughout recorded history, people have used pictures, stories, dances, and chants as healing rituals.
2. The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health, Stuckey and Nobel 
3. “Art helps people express experiences that are too difficult to put into words, such as a diagnosis of cancer.”  The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health, Stuckey and Nobel 
4. “Art can be a refuge from the intense emotions associated with illness. There are no limits to the imagination in finding creative ways of expressing grief.“  The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health, Stuckey and Nobel 
5. "Studies suggest that art therapy can be very valuable in [the simplest way to define it is an application of the visual arts in a therapeutic context] treating issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and even some phobias. It is a great way to express your emotions without words, process complex feelings and find relief." Creativity and Recovery: The Mental Health Benefits of Art Therapy
6. "Mental health professionals and experts agree that art therapy has many benefits, from boosting your self-esteem, and providing you a safe outlet to relieve your emotions, to giving you a sense of control over your life and helping you to get to know and understand yourself better. During the process of art creation, you will be taking yourself on a journey of self-discovery that will help you eliminate emotional roadblocks, and learn how to communicate with yourself and others." Creativity and Recovery: The Mental Health Benefits of Art Therapy​

...​Live Longer

1. “…researchers found that only creativity - not intelligence or overall openness - decreased mortality risk. One possible reason creativity is protective of health is because it draws on a variety of neural networks within the brain” Why It’s Important to Be Creative, Courtney Carver​
2. “...creativity (a facet of openness) was related to a reduced risk of mortality. Specifically, each SD [standard deviation] increase in creativity was associated with a 12 percent decrease in mortality risk over the 18-year follow-up period. The study’s authors concluded “creativity predicted mortality risk above and beyond age, education, smoking, and health status” V. Krishna Kumar Ph.D. Do creative people live longer?
   
3. “A study published in the June issue of the Journal of Aging and Health found that higher openness predicted longer life, and other studies this year have linked that trait with lower metabolic risk, higher self-rated health and more appropriate stress response.” Creativity Predicts a Longer Life,  By Tori Rodriguez

...Heal

1. "Through creativity and imagination, we find our identity and our reservoir of healing. The more we understand the relationship between creative expression and healing, the more we will discover the healing power of the arts." The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health,  Stuckey and Nobel
2. In other words, the process of creating art doesn't just make you feel better, it also creates real, physical changes inside your body. Make More Art: The Health Benefits of Creativity, James Clear 
3. “At Paul Hamlyn Foundation, we have always believed that the arts are a force for change, enriching people’s lives and transforming communities, so we were pleased to support this important work, to shine a light on the links between arts and wellbeing and to uncover the excellent practice and evidence to underpin our assertions. The ndings emphasise the positive impact that arts access and participation have on helping people to overcome disadvantage and enjoy healthier lives, and the case studies clearly demonstrate the power that partnerships between health agencies and arts practitioners can have.” The Arts for Health and Wellbeing, Moira Sinclair
4. “The mind is the gateway through which the social determinants impact upon health, and this report is about the life of the mind. It provides a substantial body of evidence showing how the arts, enriching the mind through creative and cultural activity, can mitigate the negative e ects of social disadvantage. Creative Health should be studied by all those commissioning services.” The Arts for Health and Wellbeing, Professor Sir Michael Marmot

With so many saying how good creativity is, what are you waiting for?