The Joy of Self-Expression

Permission to Play.

Permission to Play.

Self-expression is a beautiful opportunity to release our emotions through moments of creativity and play. The act of allowing ourselves the space to explore outward expression of our inner selves helps us better understand and process our emotions. When we aren’t actively expressing, we’re actively suppressing, which impacts our wellbeing. 

We often think of self-expression — music, art, dance, writing, design, etc — as hobbies or skills that need to be mastered. But the truth is the act of self-expression requires no skill or mastery, in fact it can actually be beneficial to try something new or challenging that we don’t feel “good” at.

Here are a few reasons to just dive into things and not hold back…

When we express ourselves, it's about the process of being creative, not about the task itself. Don’t take creativity too seriously! Dip your paint brush in paint and swirl the colors, sing out of key, dance your heart out, free write everything in your head. Perfection is merely a construct that holds us all back from being our truest selves. Let yourself play!

When we try new things, we face the fear of failure and that initial feeling of being uncomfortable becomes more familiar. The more comfortable we get being uncomfortable in life, the less afraid of the unknown we are — which is when the big growth happens. 

When we use our imagination and creativity it calms our thinking brain and allows us to get out of our own head. Moments of self-expression are like taking our busy brain for a spa day.

When we make play and self-expression part of our daily routine we support our mental and emotional health and transform our wellbeing. For more tips on how to incorporate more play into your everyday life, follow us @femalecollective.