Last week I was reading the May 2018 Texas Monthly article about Willie Nelson while waiting at the doctor’s office. I was fascinated in learning what keeps this 85-year-old country music legend still so full of life and vigor. Willie’s national tour schedule is enough to make a man a quarter of his age weary, and last year he released his 73rd studio album.
So why does he still do it? He’s got money, an unparalleled legacy and a slice of heaven at his ranch outside Austin. He could kick back and put his feet up, but instead he’s still playing his guitar, writing songs and making music every day.
Willie says that doing what he loves is the secret. “I think I need to keep being creative, not to prove anything but because it makes me happy just to do it…I think trying to be creative, keeping busy, has a lot to do with keeping you alive.”
A recent Harvard study proved that engaging in creative behavior increases well-being. Creating and expressing ourselves gives us a sense of purpose and causes a particular kind of upward spiral. Creativity has also been linked to lowering stress and anxiety, enhancing resilience and contributing to our senses of playfulness and curiosity.
Even if you don’t consider yourself an “artist” and think you don’t have a creative bone in your body, you can still benefit from creative activity. That can be anything from designing a new ad at work, writing a few stories in a journal, creating a floral arrangement or experimenting with a new recipe in the kitchen. For Willie it’s strumming his guitar and singing songs he’s written with his family on stage in front of a country full of his fans.