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Join Calibrate 🧬 Become Your Own Medicine by Harnessing the Power of Your DNA & Daily Choices for Optimal Health & Mental Wellness (50% off on pre-sale now!!)
✨ Book Your Mental Wellness Breakthrough session! This is for courageous folks who are ready to ditch the physical and mental health symptoms, take their life back, and embody their most flavorful, fulfilled life. (New Client Session)
Howdy friend. Welcome to unforked, an unfiltered holistic nutrition and mental wellness podcast for evolving folks that crave a delicious life of fulfillment. Haley, here I am, your host, a trauma informed functional medicine dietitian, holistic mental wellness coach and the founder of the fulfilled fork. On this show, we dish up insights and activations while learning about sustainable mind, body, soul, lifestyle practices. It's sweet, it's savory and it'll spice up your life. To stay connected, make sure you sign up for our unforked email list at thefulfilledforkcom. Forward slash links. Let's dig into the episode. Thefulfilledforkcom. Forward slash links. Let's dig into the episode. Welcome. Welcome back to the Unforked Podcast, my friend. I am so happy to have you here today. If you are new here, also a big fucking welcome to you.
Haley:
Okay, today we are going to be talking about part two of our creativity as a measure of health, wellness and fulfillment. So today we are focusing on the creativity as a path to fulfillment. Last time we talked about creativity and nervous system regulation in more depth, and so today we're going to dive into the fulfillment piece a little bit more, because we touched on it briefly and I think it hosting a free yes, free training, and this free training is called Ignite. We are talking all about how to ignite your mental wellness transformation and how you can confidently step into your next level of health, whatever that is for you. And so, in this free and incredible training, we are going to be diving into the three foundational strategies to sustainably step into your next level of health with the utmost confidence and clarity. With the utmost confidence and clarity Because I want you to feel confident and clear about how to claim your most flavorful, fulfilled life. I want to bring you from a state of feeling unfulfilled. Maybe you do feel fulfilled, but you want to take it to your next level, no matter where you're at on that spectrum. This class is for you, it's for everyone, no matter where you're at on your journey. We are going to simplify your nutrition and mental wellness journey so that you can ditch the confusion and stress that is so fucking overwhelming in this field. It can be crazy overwhelming. So I want to make it simple for you, I want to make it clear, I want to make it potent. I want to help you get to your next level faster, in your health, in your wholeness, in your most flavorful, fulfilled life. Wonderful. Well, let's dive in, let's dive into creativity as a path to your most fulfilled life A flavorful one, I might add.
Haley:
So we know that creativity plays a huge role in fostering our personal fulfillment and our overall sense of well-being. Creativity is either enhanced or dampened depending on our level of nervous system regulation, so depending on where we're at, and it changes throughout our lives, and it can even change throughout your day and throughout your week. It is never a stagnant thing. So something to keep an eye on is how creativity influences your overall feeling of fulfillment and your overall feeling of health and well-being. So we know that creativity can act as a very unique path towards self-discovery and deeper connection with your values and your life's vision, so your aspirations in life.
Haley:
Let's talk about creativity as a powerful tool for self-expression first, which is very, very influential in living your most flavorful, fulfilled life right. If you don't feel like you are able to be your authentic self, you probably aren't going to feel fulfilled. So how is self-expression influenced by creativity? We know that when we are in a creative state that allows you to articulate your thoughts, your emotions and your beliefs in divergent ways, so in unconventional ways, in out-of-the-box ways, in creative ways, and so through those various creative outlets that you may engage in, like art, music, writing, problem solving, gardening, cooking, whatever it is it could be building things like woodworking, things like woodworking, it could be working like mechanical type of things. So through those creative outlets you can channel that creativity, which is a channeling of your authentic self, so your self-expression, your innermost feelings, your innermost ideas, your innermost desires, and so it's another way that we can communicate to ourselves, most importantly, and also the people in the world around us, what it means to be us right. I think that's a very important part of health. That we don't really talk about is our ability to be self-expressed and our safety in feeling self-expressed.
Haley:
It is only quite recently that I felt that I feel solid in my ability to have my fullest self-expression. It's quite recent, and I'm so glad that this episode is coming now, because the stifling of my self-expression is so near that I'm not going to forget what that was like, and when I think about that, I think about how I can resource myself for creative self-expression. So one of my mentors, laura, has really been helpful for me in this process, because she reminds me that. She has reminded me in times where I didn't feel okay to use my voice. I didn't feel okay to talk on this podcast. Right, I'd been talking about it for a while and it just wasn't time. I wasn't ready Because I didn't feel that in that moment I could resource myself. I couldn't take care of myself if there was a response to what I'm saying or if someone disagreed with me or whatever it is.
Haley:
And one of the things in my work with her that I found so profound and eye-opening was as a woman, was, as a woman, how women in particular, and especially anybody who is historically marginalized so not just women, but people of color, lgbtq communities have historically felt unsafe in self-expression. So I want to talk about women in particular really quick. The episode is not going to be all about this, but I think it's an important point to mention, because the culture and patriarchy has historically made women feel inadequate, wrong, bad, and put them in danger even, and criticize them and attack them for using their voice, for self-expression, for being themselves. Right, it's a thing and it's really not that far behind us. And so, of course, we can see how this is a very generational influence and I mean the patriarchy is alive and well. It's different now. It's not the same as it was, but it very much. I've seen it very alive in many people and, yeah, it is a feeling of unsafety, and so how can you resource yourself into a greater feeling of safety and self-expression?
Haley:
And for me, one of those things was one having counseling and mentorship around around this topic so I could explore it with somebody else, explore it with somebody else, and I also needed to be cracked open to greater awareness of the issues. I didn't know. I thought it was just because why can't I feel self-express? What is it about me? What do I need to fix in myself to feel better about expressing my authentic truth, better about expressing my authentic truth? What was it? What did I need to fix? What personal development shit do I need to dive into now? Right, and having this really narrow, individualistic view is not always helpful. Yes, it's an important piece, absolutely, absolutely. But it wasn't until I opened up to to the greater systems that have historically oppressed voices of people like me. That's when I was able to say you know what? Fuck that, fuck that. I nope. That is not in my value. Staying silent is not in my value.
Haley:
And the words I want to bring right, the words I'm bringing to you now, it's to help. It's to help you to live your most incredible life, to feel incredible and amazing in your mind, body, to feel incredible and amazing in your mind, body and your soul. I want you to know the truth of health. This is something that I am so deeply invested in and something I so deeply value for myself and for other people. I want to bring the resources to you. I want you to know that you don't have to feel like shit. You don't have to live a blah kind of existence.
Haley:
I thought that that's what I had to had to be stuck with for quite some time, years and years and years. And so since I figured it out and I went through a lot of trial and error and many years of research and a degree and certifications and all of this stuff, and many books right Like journaling oh my god, I don't even I don't even know how much time and effort and money I've spent on this, and so, since I have this ability, I want to be able to bring it to the people who need it. So it was really important for me to be able to use my voice. So the moral of this story because that was a tangent, for sure is that we need to be able to resource ourselves for self-expression. So it's not enough for me to just say creativity is a path to fulfillment.
Haley:
Creativity is a path to self-expression Because it is, and that's true. And also it's true that self-expression is not something that people automatically feel safe in their bodies to do. It's not always safe their bodies to do it's not always safe. It's fucking terrifying sometimes to put our beliefs out there in our life experiences and tell people, hey, this is the truth or this is a truth, this is my truth, because there are no like, ultimate like. What's the ultimate truth for me is going to be different than the ultimate truth for you, right? So, that being said, contemplate on how you can resource yourself for greater self-expression. All right, so let's get back into creativity and how creativity is a powerful tool for self-expression.
Haley:
So I talked a little bit about how, in my story, in my experience, I had to have the safety to engage in those creative pursuits, and so that's one aspect. The other aspect is actually engaging in the creative pursuit can help you communicate your innermost feelings. It can play an incredibly important role in shaping your identity and your sense of self. So when you are exploring creative outlets, you can not only tap into that creative potential that you have, but you're also exploring different facets of your personality. You're discovering hidden talents. Perhaps You're developing different talents because a lot of things we're shit at when we first start right and then we just get good at it. And you're also cultivating that deeper sense of who you are, so that identity and an understanding of your values, what matters to you? What are your beliefs? Who are you? What do you want out of life? Who are you? What do you want out of life?
Haley:
One way that I have done this in particular, no-transcript and these self-portraits have helped me to explore different parts of myself that I didn't feel safe to bring out or I didn't know existed in me, even Like what even is this for me? What is this feeling in my body? So that is just one example, one way where you can engage in that creative pursuit. So for me and I will add that it's also like journaling and writing. That's another thing I do to one enhance the safety in my body for creative self-expression and just self-expression in general is through journaling and self-portraits. So that is something that I use to bring safety into my body, along with other nervous system regulation techniques and just generally how I take care of myself and my body and my relationships, all of those things right. So we're going to shift gears now into creativity and in your goals, in achieving your goals.
Haley:
Creativity is a driving force of motivation, innovation and resilience when you are pursuing your most flavorful, fulfilled life. Yes, there's a huge relationship between creativity and achieving your intentions, goals and desires. The creative thinking aspect it helps you in that pursuit of fulfillment and not pursuit, as in you're always chasing and chasing and chasing, but in the steps you are taking towards fulfillment in a way that is able to foster innovative solutions, creative strategies, like creative strategies for you to be sustainable in your actions towards health, like how do you make healthy eating sustainable for you? How do you make your creative practice sustainable for you? How do you make movement sustainable for you? Creativity can greatly help in answering those questions. We can approach from those unique angles and that helps give us a sense of purpose, a sense of direction, and it guides you towards actually setting the intentions, setting the goals and accomplishing those goals and intentions in ways, I might add, that align with your passions, your values, all the things.
Haley:
So, with the creativity, you're also bringing excitement. You're bringing your personality into all of your actions and endeavors in your life, and that's what can help, that is an internal source of motivation when it feels fucking good to engage in the activities that move you towards your next level. That moves you towards your fulfilled life, that moves you towards greater health and wellness and greater personal power. Right so, when you embrace your creativity, you are enhancing your self-expression. When you do it in a safe way right Safe in your body, and it also empowers you to navigate challenges and the complexities of life with confidence, purpose and that internal belief that you can achieve it. You can get there. That's what creativity does for you. So you can see now how creativity is an incredibly powerful indicator of mental health, emotional health, physical health, wellness, fulfillment. It engages you to express your thoughts, your emotions, your experiences in unique and meaningful ways, and it helps you find sustainable, creative tools and ways of living out your most fulfilled life through the highest alignment for you. Right so, through your values and your beliefs and your why, we can also see how engaging in creative pursuits reduces that stress, reduces the anxiety, can reduce depression and it promotes a sense of calmness and well-being and also it makes us feel good.
Haley:
I don't know about you, but I impress myself. I impress myself a lot when I'm creative, like I did a self-portrait earlier this week and, oh my god, it was a whole session. Oh my god, I am still just giddy about it. I am so proud of it the best self-portrait session I've ever done. Those are, honestly, those are probably the most authentic portraits I've ever seen of myself. They're incredible, incredible, right. They feel so good and so, yes, it reduces stress and anxiety and depression, but it also it doesn't just reduce it. It enhances your overall sense of fulfillment and well-being. And it can also creativity can also bring more purpose into your life, as you can see through the examples of the goals and how can you find creative solutions, and that is what brings you into a greater sense of resilience in your life is often through this creativity and this ability to adapt, and that brings us to a more meaningful and satisfying life. And we also talked about how, when we cultivate our creative interests, it can help us tap into our innermost desires and our passions and guide us towards a path of self-discovery and personal growth, and guide us on that path, not even just towards the path, but on the path, the path, but on the path.
Haley:
I want to add one last piece here, and that is intuition. Creative practice is an incredible way to strengthen your intuition. An example would be intuitively choosing a meal that you would not usually make, perhaps Channing that intuition to choose a meal to cook and that engages greater thinking and like creativity. I don't know about you, but I love. I love meals and spicing them in different ways and adding different foods to them. How can I make this more satisfying and more nourishing, both physically, like through taste, aroma, all the things through our senses, but also through health? So that, my friends, is how we can use creativity and how creativity is a path to fulfillment in our lives.
Haley:
Let me know what you thought of this episode. I would love to hear from you. I haven't heard conversations about this before. So, yeah, I would absolutely love to hear what you thought of this episode of part one as well. Let me know what takeaways, breakthroughs you have. If you have any questions, please yeah, please submit your questions. Email them to me. The link is in the show notes With your question.
Haley:
You may have a chance to have that question answered on a podcast episode, like an in-depth episode. So absolutely, ask away. What an incredible opportunity, right? So, with all of this, this creativity chat is directly linked to the free training that I am teaching. It is directly linked because it is bringing you to your most flavorful, fulfilled life, right? It is an incredible aspect, incredibly important aspect, I might add to ignite your mental wellness transformation, like creativity is a portal to mental wellness, to greater health, holistic health, all aspects. It is a portal to confidence and self-expression in that next level of health for you. So I would absolutely love to see you in the free. Ignite your Mental Wellness Transformation training. That can be found in the show notes.
Haley:
And yeah, I'm complete. That's all I've got for you today. I hope you have a fantastic day. My friend Can't wait to see you on the next episode and thank you again for being here. I'm so, so grateful. Oh wait, one more thing. I do want to add that if you rate and review the show, send me a screenshot of that rating or review and I will gift you with cash. I will gift you with cash, essentially, that you can use towards mental wellness coaching with me. So if that is of interest to you, go ahead, sign up.
Haley:
I have introductory appointments for any new folks coming into my coaching world. You can hop on to that initial appointment and get a good chunk off, right? I want to thank you, in a way, for being here and for wanting to continue this work. I want to celebrate that with you. So that is my celebration to you when you take that next step and sign up for any of the holistic mental wellness coaching in my world. That link is also in the show notes. Wonderful, okay, actually. Have a great day this time. I promise there's no more. I'll see you next time, friend. Thank you for listening to Unforged. You can find all resources and links from this episode in the show notes at thefulfilledforkcom forward slash podcast. If you enjoyed the episode, we'd love if you'd send it to a friend and rate and review the show on either Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Then email us a screenshot of your review to howdy at the fulfilled forkcom for a one-time credit to use towards our wellness services at the fulfilled fork Chat soon.