How to Tap Into Your Inner Child Creativity & Why You Need To

Adulting is hard. And it can be even harder to find time to be creative and play. Tapping into your inner child creativity is an important exercise that we all need to do.

Through my years of teaching meditation, I focused a lot on drawing individuals closer to their inner mentor—a source of infinite wisdom and guidance. These exercises helped students find direction when they felt lost, receive encouragement when they felt like they'd failed, and hear answers to questions they couldn't solve on their own. Inner mentor meditation classes are always powerful, but what is much less talked about is the inner child.

While the inner mentor is your older, wiser self, the inner child is a much younger you.

Discovering Your Inner Child

When you think about having fun as a kid, what is the first memory that comes to mind? What age were you in this memory? What did you look like?

This is your inner child.

Make the picture clear and specific in your mind, closing your eyes if you have to.

This unique memory can tell you a lot about what you love to do and who you truly are. If you ever feel a lack of passion or creativity in any given season, visualizing and remembering your inner child can help you get back to your authentic, true nature.

For instance, the memory that comes up for me is a girl around 7 years old wearing soccer shorts and a tie-dye tee with long, blonde hair and tan skin. It's summer, and she's bouncing back and forth between riding her bike, climbing into a treehouse, wandering through the woods, and building bow and arrows. When I think of how much time I spend nowadays in front of a computer, indoors, or watching TV, I cringe a little knowing this little girl would be tugging my arm to get outdoors. These gentle reminders help me tap back into who I am and what lights me up inside.

You can also ask yourself what it was that you enjoyed doing as a kid. My younger self loved to paint, draw houses and gardens, play restaurant, and read fantasy books.

Why You Need to Know Your Inner Child

It's important to go through this process because knowing your inner child can help you be more flexible and easygoing as an adult, and even more importantly, it can help you access joy, playfulness, and creativity—things that a lot of adults sadly have trouble feeling on a daily basis! The point is to never let these important sensations fall to the wayside as we navigate the challenging and grueling world of adulthood.

An Exercise to Tap Into Your Inner Child Creativity

Once you've answered the questions above and have a clear and precise picture in your mind of who your inner child is, grab a journal and jot down everything that comes to mind regarding what you loved to do as a kid.

Then, think about how you could implement some of these activities into your daily life. For example, I decided that once a month I am going to "play restaurant" by setting the table in a festive way and cooking a full course meal inspired by a dreamy travel destination. In this example I'm doing something I loved to do as a kid but with an adult twist.

There may be things on your list that don't make sense to do all the time. Make a bucket list of activities to do for a season that help you connect with your inner child creativity. I don't own a bike, but I used to bike all the time as a kid. I have on my summer bucket list that I want to spend an afternoon biking to different places around the city.

In my adulthood I've been an avid non-fiction enthusiast. I don't think I had picked up a novel since high school! I ordered A Court of Thorns and Roses and am absolutely loving reading fiction again, particularly in the fantasy genre.

Review the list you created and write down when you plan to do these activities. Just recently I painted rocks to tap into my inner child creativity—accessing the part of me that loves the outdoors and the part of me that loves to paint.

Be More Like Your Inner Child

While going through your list and doing inner child activities is a blast and sometimes comical (like my husband seeing "paint rocks" on our shared calendar 🙂 ), the purpose is to go through life a little more carefree, lighthearted, flexible, and joyful.

So go forth, find your inner child, and embrace the joy and playfulness that is to come. Happy playing!

In my August Table Talk, I share a book, Playing Big, that is designed to help you connect with both your inner mentor and your inner child if you wish to dive into this topic even further!