Sometimes you wonder "¦ "Is everyone's life as drab and colorless as mine?"
You do have some good times, but it's the day-to-day grind that gets you down sometimes.
You wish you could add some excitement to your life, a bit of color that would make the day sparkle.
And you wonder "¦ why? Why do some people seem to have such interesting lives while your life just passes you by on a slow boat?
5 colorful Qualities that will jazz up your life
Even though most colorful, interesting people have many positive qualities, you'll find they usually have the following in common:
- They are curious; they love to discover new ideas, places, people, and interests.
- They are expressive; they're not scared to speak their minds and express themselves well.
- They take initiative; they don't sit around waiting for permission to do what they want to do, and they like to try new things.
- They are inventive; they think outside of the box and constantly come up with original ideas and new ways of doing things.
- They are confident; they are not scared to make mistakes and act like they know what they are doing, even when they don't.
These qualities are often what combine to make for interesting lives. Qualities that many children have.
Qualities that you probably had as a child once upon a time. Qualities that you lost in kindergarten.
How Kindergarten Arts and Crafts Suppressed Your Colorful Qualities
This may sound like an unusual concept to you.
Most people think that arts and crafts is good for children and teaches them important skills. So how could arts and crafts be the bad guy?
The crafts you probably did as a child were of the sort that did not help you develop beneficial skills and suppressed important qualities that were crucial to your development.
You probably had a great interest in doing art as a child and couldn't wait to create. But you were not allowed to do that on your own.
Instead, the teacher would make a model of a craft and have you copy exactly what she did, thus not making you very confident in your own abilities.
Let's get back to some of those qualities that you would need for a colorful, fulfilling life and how your arts and crafts may have suppressed them.
Curiosity (and discovery):
As a child, you're supposed to discover the world and learn to solve problems through childlike curiosity. They should've given you art materials and given you a chance to play around with them on your own so you could discover their properties and what you could do with them.
By giving you prescribed directions for art projects, the teacher didn't allow you to discover for yourself, thus suppressing your curiosity.
Self-expression:
In order for children to express who they are as individuals, they need to make art that allows their individuality to shine through.
Most children in standard kindergartens create projects that are identical to one another's.
When you create copycat, cookie-cutter projects at the same time, individuality and self-expression die.
Initiative:
Initiative means being a self-starter and beginning things on your own.
When you are not trusted to create projects on your own and can only copy the teacher's model, how likely is it that you will take initiative?
When I was teaching many years ago, one of my colleagues told me this story:
"I was a substitute one day in a second-grade class. The children had some free time, so I gave out some simple art materials for the kids to use and went back to my desk. After a minute or two of hearing no noise, I looked up and saw all the children just sitting and waiting "¦ "You didn't tell us what to do" was their response to my query about why they hadn't started."
These children had had their initiative taken away from them by all the cookie-cutter craft projects they had been fed. Of course, if you tried to do your own thing and were reprimanded, that only added to the lack of initiative.
Inventiveness:
Inventing is creating. Creating can only come when fear of failure and censure is absent.
When you have been made to feel that your work is less than perfect, why would you even attempt to create and invent original works?
Experimenting and finding original ways to use materials or creating a wholly original project is something that needs to be nurtured from a very young age.
Confidence:
Confidence is what you get when you are allowed to follow all the steps above. When you are allowed to discover, express yourself, take initiative, and be inventive, the confidence of your success comes as a natural result.
If you get beaten down and are not allowed any room for the above qualities to flourish, your confidence takes a beating as well (another classic by-product of cookie-cutter crafts).
You can still rediscover and reignite these qualities and lead a more colorful life
Fortunately for you, it's not too late.
Anyone interested in making their life more interesting can do so.
To do so, you must tap into some of those qualities that were inhibited in kindergarten and get them working again.
A great way to do so is to get involved in some art that is not so product-focused, but more process-focused. That way, you will allow yourself the space to become creative in your adult life in a way that you were not able to as a child.
You can use process-focused art to reignite these lost qualities:
Curiosity:
To reignite your childlike curiosity, buy a bunch of art materials you've never used before and just discover how they work.
Ever used oil pastels, or clay, or how about paint markers?
Loads of different art materials make me salivate when in an art store or online.
Go get some of them (or order online), and just see how they work. You are now allowed.
Self-expression:
Self-expression is what happens when you actually start using those materials you were so curious about.
Getting involved in such media brings on bursts of creativity that you don't know you have.
You can use all kinds of media.
Media like wood, clay, fabric, tiles, yarn, and even food are all available to get creative with.
Pick one that appeals to you, buy the materials, and start experimenting.
The beautiful part of all this is that you can experiment and discover without any thought of results. Concentrate on the process, and you will do so without any fear of criticism or failure.
Initiative:
Initiative is getting started.
Initiative is all about getting started, even if you're a bit insecure or not sure what you want to create. If that feels familiar, you might check out Kim Piper Worker's book, "Make it Mighty Ugly."
In it, she has you making a creature using any materials you have in your home. Toilet paper rolls, egg boxes, old cardboard tape dispensers, glue gun, etc.
The point is to make it ugly.
This way it meets your fear head on, and you don't have to worry about it.
Take initiative, and just begin.
Inventiveness:
Once you get involved in some sort of creative media, and you learn the material and how it works, your inventiveness comes into play.
You can invent something to go with your ugly creature, or you can become inventive with something as simple as household materials.
Start gathering materials such as paper clips, pen caps, laundry containers, and create a sculpture using a glue gun.
As you continue playing around with materials and equipment, you will find new ways of using them and applying them to real life.
Confidence
When you stop worrying about what the results will be and just start enjoying the process, your confidence will soar, especially when you stop caring about what everyone else will say about your work.
You will also feel so good about the changes in your life as you realize that you can learn anything that you cannot help but feel more confidence.
Pretty soon, everyone will refer to you as a colorful, interesting person.
How reigniting these qualities will change your life
When you rediscover and reignite these lost qualities you still have within you, you'll notice your life will change in many ways.
Your newfound curiosity will encourage you to try all the other activities you've secretly wanted to try all your life. Through your curiosity, you'll develop a wider range of interests and skills.
Your newfound initiative will help you get started on that project that's been scaring you for so long.
Your newfound inventiveness will help you find more creative solutions to your problems and other people's problems too.
Your newfound self-expression will finally make you take that art class you've wanted to take for so long.
You will feel a satisfaction and fulfillment you've never felt before, and you'll replace your drab existence with a new world full of colors and hues.
A world that you love to hang out with.
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