Get Outside to Decrease Stress & Increase Creativity (Yes, Even in the Winter)

Connecting with Nature Decreases Stress & Increases Creativity

I have a confession to make: I don’t get out of the house as much as I should in the winter. Heck, I work from home so I don’t even get out enough when the weather is warm. When it’s cold out, I *really* have to make a concerted effort to get outside and to connect with nature.

But getting outside can make such a difference in how you feel!

Have you ever noticed how refreshed you feel after spending time outdoors? Seriously, there’s been lots of studies about it, but you don’t need a study to be able to feel the positive effects of getting outside. Even a brisk walk around the neighbourhood can really change your mood and outlook. If you can make that a hike in the woods to clear your mind and ease your worries, even better!

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

We just spend too darned much time indoors. With so many hours of our day spent behind a device and indoors, when you do get outside it’s truly a breath of fresh air!

I heard Jaymz Bee, one of my favourite radio hosts, say this on the radio several years ago and it’s really stayed with me:

There’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.

#truth

This statement really sunk in for me. Hey, I can be a total fashionista (see my hobby Instagram account: @theswingcloset), but not at the risk of being cold and miserable. If you bundle up and dress appropriately, it can make spending time outdoors a completely different and much more positive experience than if you’re out there freezing your nunus.

Bundle up and make time to slow down and appreciate the changing of the season and the crisp fall and winter air. Take a look around and appreciate how the trees that provided you will shade all summer long are shedding a layer and preparing for hibernation. And even though it’s not nature and I’m not a huge Christmas person, take a walk around your area to enjoy the cheerful holiday lights your neighbours have put up.

Do your Body Good

Remember, we’re supposed to spend time outdoors. We weren’t meant to be tucked behind all those computer and mobile screens. These bodies were meant to move, and they were meant to be outside.

Connecting with nature will help decrease stress it can teach important lessons about change, patience, perseverance. You can learn so much by just slowing down and observing the ecosystem at work. Nature gracefully displays lifecycles and abundance. If you’ve tended a garden before, you know what I mean. I’m not the gardener in our family, that’s my husband, but I’m the one to pick the tomatoes, kale, and herbs in the warm weather and I can appreciate the way it all works and the fruits of that natural cycle. Yard and food waste becomes compost which nourishes the soil where you can grow your food. I’m definitely familiar with how harvest time can produce more tomatoes than you know what to do with!

“Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Nature is a Gift

These are just small examples of the priceless gifts that we can receive from nature if we simply slow down and appreciate the Earth we’re standing on. Make time to go outside for a walk, and when you do, devote a few minutes to really being mindful of your surroundings. Focusing on the trees, the air, and the sky to ease your mind, even if it’s just for a minute. Once you clear space in your head from worry, that’s when creativity finds its way in.