We all have that one activity - or activities - in our lives which make us ‘zone out’. In this state, your thoughts, emotions and ideas flow easily, perhaps without you being conscious of it. The 'zone' is almost like an out of body experience where you are completely absorbed by the activity in front of you, and you forget everything else around you exists - or, you know, a less intense variation of this. For you, this activity is irreplaceable, and few other things in your life put you in this head space. It is likely this is one of your avenues for self-expression.
According to Merriam Webster, self-expression is “the expression of your thoughts or feelings especially through artistic activities (such as painting, writing, dancing, etc.)”
The final product of your self-expression is not necessarily beautiful to look at, read or listen to. And that does not matter. The endgame of self-expression is not to produce something, but to have gone through the process of making it. For people who practice these on their own, it’s an informal therapy. Other people use art formally as a form of therapy. Art therapy, for example, encourages self-expression through different art forms. It is often used for people who experience difficulty expressing emotions.
Just because art can have a therapeutic effect does not mean you need to be feeling unhappy or unsatisfied with things to try it. It is often a nice break from the daily ‘thinking’ activities we might have in our work, study and life.
For those who prefer more visual forms of expression, the way colours come together through drawing or painting might take them into the zone. Maybe others love pottery and feeling the way the clay takes shape. Journalling is often a recommended form of keeping track of your emotions and journey through life. It is something I do often and that keeps me sane - mostly.
You don’t need to be a proficient writer or to write something that is consistent and has structure - check out this blog post about exercises that help you write in different ways and find writing flow. In fact, exploring with other forms of writing could make you think more freely and openly. Try writing about something that has happened to you in a fiction format. This could help you distance yourself from the experience and see a formative life story through another angle. There’s something very clever about writing that unveils your thoughts, feelings, ways of thinking - something I talk about here.
Personally I find that through writing I extract a lot of important reflections about myself and my own life. It’s a cozy moment I have to myself to be with my own thoughts. In fact writing brings me a lot of joy and a sense of wellbeing, similar to what I get out of meditation.
The important part is that your self-expression activity is an enjoyable, and at times revealing, experience.
P.S. the reflection that led to the writing of this blog post was (partially) sparked by an adorable Disney movie called "Soul". Highly recommend.
Image: Disney Plus https://www.disneyplus.com/en-gb/movies/soul/77zlWrb9vRYp