Does your wellness journey ever feel more like work than wellness?

Maybe you’ve tried the books, the routines, the advice that’s supposed to help — spend less, save more, invest. It’s important, sure, but let’s be honest… it isn’t fun.

And maybe you’ve felt that tug-of-war too: the “responsible” choice feels lifeless, while the “fun” choice feels reckless. Stuck between the two, it’s easy to feel like there’s no winning.

But what if you changed the rules? What if dollars were points, and every bit of progress counted as a win? Suddenly growth doesn’t have to feel like punishment — it can feel like play.

That’s the shift I want you to imagine for your own mental wellness. Because it doesn’t have to feel like homework. It can be lighter, creative, even fun.

In this blog, you’ll find three videos that inspired me and I hope they’ll spark something for you too.

Before we dive deeper, here are a couple things to keep in mind:

• Nothing is set in stone. Explore, play, adjust. If a routine stops working, switch it up.
  
• Lessons come from everywhere. Some of my best wellness practices didn’t come from self-help books. They came from art, fishing, hiking, and experimenting with creativity.
  
• Remember to rest. In my last video, I talked about joyful rest, giving yourself permission to do something simply because it feels good. Rest and play are not distractions; they’re fuel.

With that out of the way, here are three resources that inspired me to keep experimenting and taught me...

How to weave creativity into wellness:

1. Jim Kwik — How to Be More Creative

Jim says creativity isn’t just for artists — it’s a tool for solving problems. That hit home for me, because turning money into a game was exactly that: a creative solution to a boring, stressful problem.

Treat your wellness like a canvas. You don’t have to follow a set formula. Try new approaches, even silly ones, and see what sticks.

2. Bill Stainton — How to Be a More Creative Person

Bill uses the phrase “crack your cocoon.” His point: when we isolate ourselves from new ideas or experiences, we starve our creativity.

That landed with me. A lot of my wellness journey had turned into an echo chamber: same routines, same advice, same guilt. Cracking my cocoon is how I stumbled into fly fishing. It wasn’t a “mental health tool” on paper, but standing in a river became one of the most peaceful practices in my life.

Step outside your bubble. Sometimes the things that seem unrelated to mental health end up changing it the most.

3. Huberman Lab Podcast — The Science of Creativity

Andrew Huberman digs into how the brain actually engages in creativity from dopamine and mood to meditation tools that boost divergent thinking.

This gave me the science behind what I was already living. Hiking, songwriting, even bad cooking experiments weren’t “distractions.” They were giving my brain space to recharge and problem-solve in the background.

Fun isn’t extra. It’s science-backed fuel for your mind.

Conclusion

Making mental wellness fun doesn’t mean ignoring the hard stuff. It means finding ways to stay engaged without burning out.

Gamify your habits. Try things outside your bubble. Rest with intention.
Because when growth feels lighter, it lasts longer.

Want the bigger picture? Watch my video: The Dark Side of Self-Help.

In it, I share the full story of how I burned out on self-help and the three shifts that helped me rebuild a lighter, more sustainable approach.

If you want to see more, check out thejeffturner.ca where I share new blogs, videos, and resources every week.

And if you’re not already on my mailing list, that’s the best way to get early access to content plus a few extras I only share by email. You can sign up right on the site.

Until next time, I’m Jeff and,
Remember to take care of yourself, however that looks to you.