Want To Be Happier? Do One Creative Thing A Day

Doing one creative thing each day, be it painting, playing the guitar, or even just cooking dinner, will increase your overall happiness. {Play}

Why It Matters

There's nothing people like more than talking about how busy they are. Between work, family, work, friends, and work, it's all too common for people to complain that they just don't have time for pursuits like drawing or journaling or whipping up a meal. But a 2016 study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that we'd do well to make the time. According to the study, engaging in just one creative activity each day can increase your overall well-being, making you more likely to feel "energetic, enthusiastic, [and] excited." {Play}

At this point you might be thinking, "But I'm not a creative person, so I guess I'm just doomed to an unhappy life." Not so fast. According to the researchers' definition, "Creativity includes coming up with novel or original ideas; expressing oneself in an original and useful way; or spending time doing artistic activities (art, music, painting, writing, etc)." That's a pretty wide-ranging definition. A press release about the study explained that "the most common examples reported were songwriting; creative writing (poetry, short fiction); knitting and crochet; making new recipes; painting, drawing, and sketching; graphic and digital design; and musical performance." {Play}

Those who engaged in these activities didn't just feel better in the moment; they were happier the next day. Ultimately, the researchers found that being creative launches "a particular kind of upward spiral for well-being and creativity: engaging in creative behavior leads to increases in well-being the next day, and this increased well-being is likely to facilitate creative activity on the same day." {Play}

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Why People Should Know About It

Three words: Adult coloring books. According to Nielsen Bookscan, 12 million of these books were sold in 2015, and in the 12 months between May 2015 and April 2016, American adults spent more than $128.2 million on colored pencils. For those who haven't caught onto the craze, it might be tempting to write it off as child's play. But, according to the research, we'd all be smart to find some time to bust out the crayons. {Play}

Complain: شکایت کردن

Pursuit: پیگیری کردن

Whipping up:  آماده کردن سریع یک غذا

Engage in درگیر کاری بودن

Well-being:    سلامت/ رفاه

Enthusiastic: مشتاق/ علاقه مند

Be doomed to something: محکوم بودن

Definition: تعریف

Press release: اطلاعیه مطبوعاتی

Knitting and crochet: بافندگی و قلاب دوزی

Recipe: دستور آشپزی

Ultimately: در نهایت

Upward spiral: حرکت رو به بالا ( بصورت مارپیچی) / رشد

Lead to: منجر شدن

Facilitate: تسهیل کردن

Catch onto s.th/ s.b : منجر شدن (مفهوم منفی)

Craze: دیوانگی/ به هم ریختن ذهن