Self-Care for Creatives: It's Not a Reward—It’s the Secret Ingredient

Creativity and self care go hand in hand. Creative flow helps zap anxiety and nurturing yourself into a grounded state helps you get into creative flow. It's a beautiful cycle. Think of self-care like adding a drizzle of chocolate syrup to your sundae. It’s not the treat after work—it’s what makes the whole thing taste amazing.

Self-care isn’t a reward. It’s the toppings that are as essential to your creative sundae as the big vanilla scoop. But so often we get caught up in the doing and the anxiety and the stress of life that we tend to let go of caring for ourselves to the point where we burn out and have no choice but to squeeze in self care where we can, morphing it into something to do instead of being part of our natural creativity cycle.

Bouncing Back from Burnout Culture

When we delay self care until after… after work, after picking up the kids, after doing the laundry, after getting the groceries, after this big project, after the trip…you see where this is going…. It never actually happens. And there we are: bereft of self care and left with chronic stress as worry upon worry, duty upon duty piled on our backs with no way to wipe the slate clean. And burnout plops into your lap like a fallen 3rd scoop from your teetering ice cream cone.

(1) Part of it is the external acculturation of “work hard then you deserve nice things.” Self-care has been extracted from necessary health practices and cordoned off as one of those nice things just like a Chanel bag. Your self care has been equated to an overpriced leather bag. Hands off until you have enough money and leisurely time to enjoy it. Sorry.

(2) The other part is our real internalization of this cultural idea. Many of us really and truly believe in and value putting off self care ‘til last or doing what’s minimally needed as fast as possible. We totally buy into the quick fixes like drinking all the magical herbal powders and liquid diets, and ice baths, and tracking our steps and more. 

We’ll do anything to not have to do the real self care of:
1) slowing tf down
2) facing our true selves and being compassionate and loving towards what we see

Reframing Self-Care as a Daily Rhythm

Of course we can do all the fun and interesting “wellness” activities to entertain and delight us but without doing #1 and #2 above, it’s not giving truly caring for yourself. And what does that even mean? Why does it even matter? Because when we practice real self-care, real nurturing of ourselves, that’s when we can access more potent forms of our creativity. 

Our creativity is what makes us human (or at least primate since bonobos, for example, create tools and games, etc. on a spectrum relatable to humans). It’s what makes us us. It’s the mystery of humanity that we can and have created to such an extent that it has and can literally change the world. 

And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any more creations coming into the world from folks who are uncaring and unloving to themselves and others, from folks who don’t come from a centered and nurtured place. We just don’t need more of that. We need creations that will make this world a better place. And we need them now. We need the nurtured visionaries, the Dreamy Creatives putting their mark on the world right now and self care is where it starts.

So here’s a way to reframe self-care as more of a rhythm, a smooth undercurrent that gets your authentic self-expression, your creativity into flow: you can replace “I need to earn self-care” with “I need self-care to thrive.” Literally say this sh*t out loud 3 times. Do it in the mirror for bonus points!

The Sundae Formula for Everyday Flow

So cool, now you’re (hopefully) considering self care as an integral part of your lifestyle. How can you actually start to make it a reality instead of a thought? Here’s my easy-to-remember Sundae Formula for incorporating self-care without adding stress. 

• Savor: Take one moment each day to notice something beautiful around you. It grounds you.
• Unwind: Pick a quick go-to practice (breathwork, stretching) to reset in under five minutes.
• Nurture: Every day, pick one self-care practice that feels indulgent. Like adding a sprinkle of joy to your sundae.
• Dream: Set a quick intention for something you’d love to bring into your life or work today.
• Align – Connect with something that fuels your inner purpose, like journaling or meditating on your goals or taking action on them.
• Engage – Check in with yourself on one thing today: for ex.: your energy, your joy, or your needs.

Try one of these each day for the next 6 days. Just to see how they feel. Approach each practice with curiosity as opposed to something to complete. There’s no prize if you complete all of these so, again, shift into getting curious about the experience of each. That way, if you decide to add on more practices, you do it because it feels good – not to feel accomplished.

Gentle Reminder: Your self care is not an accomplishment. It is a way of life.

Ready to shift more deeply into a self-care way of life mindset? 

Download my free guide: Nurture on Top 🍒: 10 Quick Mental Shifts for a Self-Care Mindset.