{"id":100,"date":"2017-07-01T15:20:38","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T21:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carolhollandmarch.com\/?p=100"},"modified":"2017-07-01T15:20:38","modified_gmt":"2017-07-01T21:20:38","slug":"color-yourself-creative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/","title":{"rendered":"Color Yourself Creative!"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.5″ hover_enabled=”0″ border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n

The word is out!<\/h4>\n

Creativity goes up when stress goes down!<\/h4>\n

It also turns out that subjective feelings of happiness depend less on what we have and more on what we do.<\/p>\n

Who doesn\u2019t want to feel excited at the start of every day? Satisfied with the result of the day\u2019s effort? In harmony with the impulses that spring from within?<\/p>\n

So how can we increase our satisfaction with our lives?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many people bemoan their lack of inspiration. I\u2019m not creative, they say, all the while wishing they could be.<\/p>\n

Others are sure they don\u2019t have time. It\u2019s true that we\u2019re all busy. I meet people who say, wistfully, after the kids grow up, after I start making more money, after I retire, THEN I\u2019ll do my creative work.<\/p>\n

But what if your inner muse grows weary of waiting? What if your ideas fade to dust because you haven\u2019t put the energy into making them real?<\/p>\n

Creativity is like a garden. It you don\u2019t water it, it dries up.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u00a0It doesn\u2019t take a lot of water. A regular sprinkle is better than the occasional downpour.<\/p>\n

The good news is, you can be creative now. Without quitting your job. Without getting another degree. Without committing to writing a breakout novel or painting the next modern masterpiece.<\/p>\n

All you have to do is give yourself the time and space to relax. To let your creative impulses come forth. Creative work comes from play. From downtime. From daydreaming. From noodling with ideas, words, pictures. From giving yourself a gift that only you can give. Permission to be who you are.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We all have creative gifts. For some, that means serious writing, painting, music, design. For others, it means craftwork. Or nurturing a beautiful environment. Or growing healthy vegetables and beautiful plants. Doesn\u2019t matter where your talents and impulses take you. What matters is that you follow them.<\/p>\n

Easy to say, you might sneer, and you\u2019re right. It is easy to say. BUT, it\u2019s also easy to do.<\/p>\n

Start small. Allot a short period of time on a regular basis when your creative self can roam free. Turn off the phone, the computer, shut the door and be with yourself.<\/p>\n

You could meditate. Read inspirational material. Draw. Write in your journal. Or sit and listen to yourself breathe. Or you could evoke your inner creative self with color!<\/p>\n

Color Your Way to Your Creative Self<\/h4>\n

A great way to relax in your creative time and get those juices flowing is to get an adult coloring book, some crayons or colored pencils and have at it! It\u2019s amazing how relaxing it is to color beautiful designs that an artist has produced. The proliferation of these books speaks to how effective they are, both in reducing stress and promoting creativity.<\/p>\n

Books with almost any theme that interests you are available on Amazon. I\u2019ve listed a few below, and there are many others.<\/p>\n

Have you tried coloring as part of your creative process? \u00a0I’d love to hear about your experiences.<\/p>\n

Adult Coloring Book for Stress Relief<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

Adult Coloring Book Stress Relieving Animal Designs
\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

The Secret Garden Coloring Book
\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

Color Me Calm<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.5″ hover_enabled=”0″ border_style=”solid”] The word is out! Creativity goes up when stress goes down! It also turns out that subjective feelings of happiness depend less on what we have and more on what we do. Who doesn\u2019t want to feel excited at the start … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Color Yourself Creative!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carol-holland-march"],"yoast_head":"\nColor Yourself Creative! - Carol Holland March<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Color Yourself Creative! - Carol Holland March\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.5″ hover_enabled=”0″ border_style=”solid”] The word is out! Creativity goes up when stress goes down! It also turns out that subjective feelings of happiness depend less on what we have and more on what we do. Who doesn\u2019t want to feel excited at the start … Continue reading "Color Yourself Creative!"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Carol Holland March\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carol Holland March\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carol Holland March\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carol Holland March\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2b60df9140165e1c3a191ae0f85737c\"},\"headline\":\"Color Yourself Creative!\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/\"},\"wordCount\":597,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"carol holland march\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/\",\"name\":\"Color Yourself Creative! - Carol Holland March\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Color Yourself Creative!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/\",\"name\":\"Carol Holland March\",\"description\":\"Author | Editor | Coach\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Carol Holland March\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cropped-carol-logo-web.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cropped-carol-logo-web.png\",\"width\":666,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"Carol Holland March\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2b60df9140165e1c3a191ae0f85737c\",\"name\":\"Carol Holland March\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37640dcc8c26d4df54415cf7b8e7674f6177d68aa5f0131c2af324cec9a84d53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37640dcc8c26d4df54415cf7b8e7674f6177d68aa5f0131c2af324cec9a84d53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Carol Holland March\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/author\/carol\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Color Yourself Creative! - Carol Holland March","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Color Yourself Creative! - Carol Holland March","og_description":"[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.5″ hover_enabled=”0″ border_style=”solid”] The word is out! Creativity goes up when stress goes down! It also turns out that subjective feelings of happiness depend less on what we have and more on what we do. Who doesn\u2019t want to feel excited at the start … Continue reading \"Color Yourself Creative!\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/","og_site_name":"Carol Holland March","article_published_time":"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00","author":"Carol Holland March","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carol Holland March","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/"},"author":{"name":"Carol Holland March","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2b60df9140165e1c3a191ae0f85737c"},"headline":"Color Yourself Creative!","datePublished":"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00","dateModified":"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/"},"wordCount":597,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["carol holland march"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/","name":"Color Yourself Creative! - Carol Holland March","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00","dateModified":"2017-07-01T21:20:38+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/01\/color-yourself-creative\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Color Yourself Creative!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/","name":"Carol Holland March","description":"Author | Editor | Coach","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#organization","name":"Carol Holland March","url":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cropped-carol-logo-web.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/cropped-carol-logo-web.png","width":666,"height":250,"caption":"Carol Holland March"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2b60df9140165e1c3a191ae0f85737c","name":"Carol Holland March","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37640dcc8c26d4df54415cf7b8e7674f6177d68aa5f0131c2af324cec9a84d53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37640dcc8c26d4df54415cf7b8e7674f6177d68aa5f0131c2af324cec9a84d53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Carol Holland March"},"url":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/author\/carol\/"}]}},"blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"125":{"name":"carol holland march","link":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/category\/carol-holland-march\/"}},"tags_names":[],"comments_number":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}