Nature journaling in my front yard this week.

“People start doing things that matter when they increase creative confidence.”

— David Kelley

Lots of cool things floated through my field this week. Here are five of the coolest:

ONE

I've been exploring creativity this past week. After I wrote Curiosity is a Gateway to Creativity , I found this video by John Muir Laws where he teaches an entire workshop called Exploring Curiosity. It's in the context of nature journaling, which leads me to...

TWO

Nature Journaling is Good for Your Health. If it's too cold to go sketch outside, well, I'd suggest more layers, good gloves and maybe a down puffy. But if you want nature from the comfort of your own fireside, my friend Angie, aka Bean, is sending out delicious Notes from Nature throughout December. It's not to late to get in on the fun.

THREE

Since I've been exploring the creative impulse this week, one question I've tried to answer is "Why bother cultivating creativity?", especially if I don't think of myself as a creative person.

This TED talk grapples with some of those same questions: How to Build Your Creative Confidence. It's not exactly a "how-to" talk as advertised, but he makes some great points about the benefits of letting our creative impulses run amok. Because "people start doing things that matter when they increase creative confidence."

FOUR

Whenever my fear of being too old to start something new, like daily drawing or writing a book, pops into my head, I remind myself that Grandma Moses didn't start painting until she was 78 years old and Colonel Sanders was broke and in his 60s when he invented Kentucky Fried Chicken.

This article about women artists in their 80's was my first feel-good story of the week. It reminds me of this cheeky Japanese woman and her vibrant Instagram feed, 1000wave. Seriously, try not to smile when she pops up in your feed.