Creation and Inspiration.
I love that word. It’s a great feeling being inspired… A combination of excitement, incentive and motivation…. But it can be a bit elusive.
Do you wait to be inspired? Or do you do something to inspire yourself into action? The problem with waiting for inspiration is you might wait a long time and never start!
I’ve worked in the creative industry for over 25 years. In this industry you can’t wait for creativity to strike, you’ve got to do something to get yourself inspired. And it’s probably not sitting in front of the computer or staring at a blank page. Usually it involves some kind of movement, a fresh perspective and probably a bit of discomfort… I say discomfort because inspiration is not always something that strikes you at the exact time you need it, it’s something you have to nurture, seek for, allow space to evolve and capture when it decides to show. It’s something you have to work for. But the good news is you can do it and I’ve got a few tips to get you started…
How do I get myself inspired?
I have learned a few things about how to manage my time to nurture and enhance my creativity and I’d love to share them with you.
It all starts with awareness, allowing time and space to let things in, to step aside from your current reality and allow the possibility of something new and exciting without judgment. I have learned to be ready to notice it, capture it and not underestimate or ignore the ideas that pop into my head.
Here’s my top ten tips for nurturing inspiration…
1. Change your state. Get up and move! Walking always works for me, preferably in nature. Removes the blocks and gets the blood flowing!
2. Change your outlook… physically and/or mentally. Get yourself in a different zone. Right now I’ve found myself a different zone… by the fire at one of my favorite little pubs. If I can’t change my physical space, I’ll change my inner outlook. With meditation, music, or even just a cup of tea… something to help me focus my mind and let go of whatever it is that is distracting me.
3. Look for it. You can’t just expect inspiration to come along when you feel like it. Mostly it strikes at the most unexpected and inopportune moments.
4. Make space for it. Leave some free-flow space in your busy life and leave some headspace in your busy mind. Quieten your mind and let new thoughts in.
5. Prioritise your own projects. Allow them some space. If you’re full up with duty tasks, self-imposed jobs and placating others, you’ll never create something you really want to create.
6. Commit to completion. Decide that you will follow through no matter what; you will find the time and space to complete your task.
7. Put it out there. If you’re looking for inspiration on a particular project, set yourself a question and then be ready to capture the answer when inspiration strikes.
8. Never assume. Change the way you look at things – Look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. Inspiration has a habit of striking at the weirdest times and in the strangest places.
9. Build a supportive lifestyle. Tempo can help you begin to build that system to support your creativity, doing what you do, to bring you back to you.
10. Find a Big Thinking space. Somewhere that really takes you to another zone. For me, it’s sitting on the top of a mountain, or a hill, anywhere with an outlook.
Have you got a project you’d like to create? A book? A business? A web site… Maybe you want to create some more space in your life or more balance…. Do you have a personal idea that is going to take some focus and attention? Something you need to add a bit of inspiration to get the ball rolling? Whatever you want to create in your life.. make time and find space for a bit of inspiration and you’ll get the ball rolling!
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