Creativity doesn’t have to be about the finished product. Sometimes the reward is simply in making something.. Photo: DepositPhotos

Creativity has a funny way of getting pushed aside.

Maybe you once enjoyed taking photographs, sketching, playing the piano, gardening, sewing, woodworking, writing stories or experimenting in the kitchen. Or maybe there is something creative you have always thought looked interesting but never tried.

Today’s September Is Healthy Aging® Month tip is simple: make something.

Not because you need another hobby to master. Not because anyone else needs to see the result. And certainly not because you have to be “good” at it.

Do it because creating can be enjoyable in its own right.

Forget About Being Good at It

One of the quickest ways to take the fun out of a creative pursuit is to decide that the result has to be impressive.

A photograph doesn’t have to belong in a gallery. A loaf of bread doesn’t have to look like the one in the cookbook. Your garden doesn’t have to resemble the pictures in a magazine.
The point is the experience of making it.

Creative activities give you permission to experiment, make mistakes, change direction and see what happens. That makes them a natural fit with this year’s September Is Healthy Aging® Month theme, “Curiosity Has No Age Limit.”

Instead of asking, Will I be any good at this? try asking, What would happen if I tried?

Revisit Something You Once Loved

You don’t necessarily need to find a new creative outlet.

Think about something you enjoyed years ago but gradually stopped doing. Did you once play an instrument? Take photographs? Grow vegetables? Paint furniture? Knit? Bake? Keep a journal?
Interests sometimes disappear simply because work, family and everyday responsibilities take over.

Returning to one can feel surprisingly new.

And don’t worry about picking up exactly where you left off. Your interests may have changed—and that is part of the fun.

Give Yourself a Small Creative Assignment

You don’t need to buy supplies or sign up for a six-week course.

• Take ten photographs during a walk and look for something you normally wouldn’t notice.
• Try a recipe using an ingredient you have never cooked with before.
• Put flowers from the yard into an arrangement for the kitchen table.
• Write one page about a favorite childhood memory.
• Plant a few herbs in a pot.
• Pull out an instrument you haven’t touched in years and play one song.

The assignment isn’t to produce something wonderful.

It’s to see what happens when you make room for creativity again.

There may be benefits beyond simple enjoyment. Recent research suggests that creative activities may also support brain health as we age.

Today’s Healthy Aging® Month Challenge

Choose one creative thing you would enjoy doing—not something you should do.

Give it 20 minutes.

No judging the result. No worrying about whether it was productive. No posting it on social media unless you want to.

Just make something.

You might discover that the most rewarding part isn’t what you created.

It’s remembering how good it feels to create.