If you are in any way connected with creativity in any of its manifestations, then you do not need to explain how important inspiration is. When you have it, any task seems within your grasp, and the creative process is so captivating that you forget about sleep and food. If it is not there, then one’s hands give up helplessly and any task becomes an unbearable burden.
It’s good if you are engaged in creativity as a hobby and can give up on the lack of inspiration: “well, no, okay, let’s wait until it’s worked up and comes back.” But what to do if creativity is your job, and your income depends on missing inspiration? There is only one answer - you have to look. We have collected for you 21 effective ways to return runaway inspiration.
What is inspiration?
Inspiration is a feeling of elation, a surge of strength and a desire to work, thanks to which a person can create something greater than in his usual state. For example, write a brilliant poem, compose music, come up with an idea. Creative inspiration allows you to concentrate and show your full potential for generating and implementing new ideas.
Where to find inspiration? Sources of inspiration can include books, travel, paintings, music, hobbies, conversations with new people, meditation and complete “disconnection” from the outside world.
A feeling of inspiration arises in a person due to the fact that he realizes interest in some activity, he has a desire to create. This state can be passed on to the people around you, which will allow you to get an even more interesting and useful result. When inspiration comes, its sensation is accompanied by a feeling of lightness, clarity of thoughts and a positive attitude. In this state, you can “move mountains.”
Get distracted
This method will help restore the spirit of those who feel that they have worked too hard. People associated with business cease to perceive anything other than calculations of income and expenses . The corridor of perception narrows greatly, and many interesting ideas and opportunities pass by.
A short-term change of activity will allow you to distract yourself, relax, and begin to see the world in all its diversity. Anything you like or liked before, when you weren’t so focused on work, will do. Favorite music, sports, comedy programs, light TV series, romance novels or detective stories with a primitive plot.
And don’t think that you are now sharply degrading if you are distracted from constant development. A couple of days of rest won’t hurt, and inspiration will definitely return to your empty head.
How to find inspiration?
Many creative people have asked this question more than once. For example, writers are interested in how to find inspiration for writing a book when the long-awaited muse does not come. Here are some tips for creative people:
How to find drawing inspiration?
Artists are inspired by paintings, prints and other works of art, as well as the world around them. Therefore, it is useful to look through the albums of famous artists, visit an exhibition in a museum, or take a walk in a beautiful place.
It is useful to surround yourself with beautiful objects that will stimulate creativity and stimulate new ideas. Sometimes creativity is stimulated by extreme stress. For example, after the first parachute jump, the brain, under the influence of strong emotions, can generate new ideas. However, you should not get carried away with the technique of severe stress.
Where can you find inspiration for writing poetry?
Poets can find inspiration in the views of nature: mountains, rivers, oceans. A feeling of creative impulse can be achieved after listening to your favorite music or talking with a loved one.
If you have been struggling with writing poetry for a long time, take a break and take a walk. Your brain will incubate ideas at this time, and after the walk you will be able to continue working with renewed vigor.
How to find inspiration for creativity?
It all depends on the direction of activity - reading books, traveling or walking, watching films, communicating with creative people, meditation and “disconnecting” from the outside world are useful.
Create a cozy atmosphere at home, turn on your favorite music, light scented candles. Achieve complete relaxation. In this state, a person is often visited by new ideas that he wants to express in creativity.
Where can you find inspiration for a book?
Try to come up with an interesting plot - you can take it from life, from a historical chronicle or your own fantasies. Watch a classic play - the acting will help you reveal emotions that can later be conveyed to the heroes of the future work.
If you can't start writing, set yourself a plan. For example, write at least 5 pages a day. Write everything that comes to mind, even completely absurd thoughts. Gradually, your brain will be drawn into the new work and you will be inspired.
Unusual life hacks from great people
How did immortal geniuses solve the problem of lack of inspiration? We'll find out now.
Apples by Friedrich Schiller
The famous German writer used a rather strange method of attracting inspiration. Apparently, his muse was a very extravagant girl. When work wasn't going well, he asked for a few rotten apples to be brought into his office and put them in his desk drawer. They exuded a sweet, musty smell that helped the prose writer concentrate.
I have not yet decided to repeat Schiller's experiment. If you try it, be sure to share your impressions in the comments!
Mark Twain's Place of Power
The American writer had a real place of power. Almost like the ancient shamans. And this place is a gazebo in the courtyard of the house. There Mark equipped an office in which he created his masterpieces. It was strictly forbidden for all family members to enter there. The writer could not leave her for several days.
Vladimir Nabokov's car
But Vladimir Nabokov preferred the cramped back seat of his car to a cozy and spacious office. Only there was he able to escape from the world and focus on creativity. By the way, he wrote most often at night, which was an additional factor that increased the discomfort. Nevertheless, such great novels as “Lolita”, “Feat”, “The Defense of Luzhin” came from Nabokov’s pen. So his method definitely has the right to life.
Dirty boots of Johannes Brahms
The German composer also experienced interruptions in inspiration. In moments of decline, he began to clean his dirty shoes. Surprisingly, this activity helped him catch the flow and get into the right state.
Nudity of Victor Hugo
While writing “Notre Dame de Paris,” the writer experienced a real creative crisis. To bring himself to his senses, he ordered everything to be taken out of the room except the desk, chair, pen and paper. Even his own clothes were left behind the door of the room - Hugo continued to create naked.
Richard Wagner's dog
The great composer wrote music only in the presence of his spaniel Peps. Moreover, the pet was not only a generator of inspiration for the musician, but also a kind of critic. Wagner tested each excerpt on a dog: he played and looked at the reaction. If the dog reacted with anxiety, then it turned out badly. The composer rewrote the passage until Peps was at peace with what he heard.
Coffee Honore de Balzac
The French writer achieved the desired state by drinking very strong coffee on an empty stomach. It is also known that he drank more than 50 cups of the drink a day and even ate dry ground coffee beans. According to Balzac, it was coffee that helped him polish his thoughts and put them into beautiful form.
If you decide to use the Balzac method, be careful! It would be a good idea to consult your doctor first.
What to do if there is no inspiration?
Despite all your efforts, sometimes inspiration doesn't come. Here are some tips that may help in this situation:
- Don’t forget to dream - this is how your imagination develops, and this contributes to inspiration.
- Travel or just walk down the street - it helps to draw inspiration from the surrounding landscapes.
- Read books - interesting thoughts will help you start creating.
- Remember about self-development - this can be not only books, but also films, performances, exhibitions, forums or conferences.
- Communicate with people - the inspiration and work spirit of others can easily be transferred to you.
- Believe in yourself and appreciate your strengths - this is the key to a successful result. Psychologists note that inspiration often comes to people who are confident in their abilities.
- Don't forget about a positive attitude and good mood - this is important for creative individuals.
- Listen to your body, do not forget about rest, good nutrition and good sleep. Even a short break will help restore balance and continue working.
Immerse yourself in the topic
Sometimes, on the contrary, you need not to be distracted, but to immerse yourself in the topic to the maximum depth . This works if your desire to act disappears due to lack of confidence in your own competence.
Write down all the questions you don't know the answer to, then find the answer to each one in turn. Read books, explore the Internet, communicate with experts. As a result, the white spots will disappear, a single picture will form, and you will be able to plan your actions. When a bunch of scattered information comes together into a clear sequence of steps, the drive to carry them out will appear.
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When does inspiration come?
Psychologists note an interesting fact: for some people, a feeling of inspiration and desire to create comes in the evening and at night. During this period, it becomes possible to concentrate on the work ahead, despite fatigue.
Why does inspiration come at night? This is due to the fact that during this period the body relaxes, and the person is not distracted by extraneous noises, neighbors, or household activities. After the bustle of the city during the day, it’s so nice to do what you love – this is where there is space for thoughts and creative impulses.
But it should be noted that this feeling does not accompany all people. Therefore, when asked why there is no inspiration at night, or, conversely, during the day, psychologists answer that this is due to the characteristics of the human body, his emotions and experiences.
To refuse from bad habits
Bad habits are dangerous not only for health, but also for psychological mood. At first, everything looks just fine: nicotine and caffeine help you concentrate on tasks, and alcohol helps you relieve stress at the end of the working day. But then something starts to go wrong. Always. And what supposedly gave you inspiration becomes a wall through which it can no longer get through.
Try giving up stimulants for a while. The first days may pass as if in a dream, but then the body will begin to seek resources within itself. And good spirits are guaranteed!
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What do you need for inspiration?
There is an opinion that to be inspired you need a positive attitude and focus on results. These two components will allow you to achieve a feeling of a comfortable state for creative work.
What to do if you lose inspiration? Experts recommend taking a little rest and taking a break from work. You can switch to another activity, in the daytime and in suitable weather, go for a walk, chat with loved ones or listen to your favorite music. This will allow your body to relax and gain new strength for further work.
Such tips will be useful for people of various professions - artists, poets, hand-made specialists. Depending on the direction of activity, after rest it is important to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of your creativity, and then you can achieve good results. If inspiration still doesn’t appear, and the deadline is approaching, you can try to complete the task. In the process of work, inspiration can appear by itself.
Change something around you
Are you completely satisfied with yourself the way you are and don’t want to change anything? Transform the space around you . Make repairs. If money is a pity - rearrangement. Other curtains, bedspreads, even a rug at the door of your home/office can change the perception of the world around you, bring a fresh stream to your senses and bring back your lost muse.
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How to write texts without waiting for inspiration?
Separately, I would like to share ideas with copywriters. If you can’t get the mood to write a text, use the “Listener” technique:
- Collect information on the topic on which you need to write a text.
- Turn on the voice recorder, for example, on your smartphone.
- Imagine a representative of the target audience of the text. If it’s difficult to imagine, call a friend or relative and let them listen to you. If there are no people nearby, you can tell the information to a pet, a flower, or any object. The main thing is that there is a “listener” in front of you.
- Say out loud what needs to be conveyed in text.
- Decipher the resulting recording by rewriting the monologue as text.
- Edit the received content.
- The article is ready!
Relax
Lack of sleep and chronic fatigue are some of the main reasons why people lose the desire to do something. If you haven’t gotten enough sleep for months and perfectly understand the saying “just got up, you’re already tired,” then it’s unlikely that any of the remaining nine methods will help.
Inspiration, the desire to actively do something is always an excess, a fountain of energy. A chronically tired person has insufficient energy. And it needs to be restored. You may not be able to get enough sleep right away; your body will need time to exit energy-saving mode. Just go to bed before 11 pm for at least a week.
Summary
Inspiration is a very subtle feeling that arises in a person on a subconscious level. Often it is impossible to control it, but you can try to achieve a comfortable state and peace of mind, thanks to which a creative impulse will appear. This is what we call inspiration.
Useful articles on the topic:
- 10 tips on how to work effectively from home!
- How to publish your book? Interview with Peter Panda
- How to force yourself to work if you have no strength or mood?
Author: Articles from readers (KadrofID: 10782) Added: 12/06/2017 at 19:16
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Immerse yourself in the stories of leaders
Emotional burnout, lack of self-confidence, feelings of helplessness - all this can be treated with books and videos that can motivate you. Studying other people's success stories in business, politics, family life, we experience the emotions of people who were able to achieve victory, no matter what. And we are infected by their enthusiasm. Live meetings and communication with successful leaders in your field of interest are even more effective If there is no possibility of a personal meeting, read real stories about rich people who achieved everything themselves.
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Sources
I bring to your attention places and activities that allow you to find your inspiration:
- sounds and sights of nature;
- paintings by famous artists;
- literature;
- communication with children;
- learning a new business, absorbing an unusual hobby;
- love relationship;
- visiting new places;
- communication with creative and highly intelligent individuals;
- language learning;
- listening to music.
Work has stopped, inspiration has disappeared, there are no ideas: 15 ways to get out of a stupor
Anyone who has ever completed any creative task is familiar with the situation when work has stopped, inspiration has disappeared, there are no ideas, and everything around is distracting and does not allow you to gather your thoughts. In English there is a special term for this - creative block. The author of the blog ISO500 decided to ask sought-after designers, artists and representatives of other creative professions about how they overcome creative block and where they get ideas, and as a result, he received 15 tips on how to regain lost inspiration.
Nicholas Felton
Ranked among the 50 most influential graphic designers in the United States by Fast Company. He is the co-founder of Daytum.com, a service that allows you to systematize daily activities and create schedules for them.
“I try to live differently every year, and I have my own pattern. If the year is odd (like 2009), I travel a lot and focus on my own projects. In even years, I try to work and earn more. In 2005 I spent 5 weeks traveling around the world and in 2007 I traveled to China, Tibet and Nepal for three weeks. After both trips, I returned to work full of creative energy and new ideas.
Another strategy I have is to agree to all offers, even if there are more than I can handle. Increasing demands on yourself and the fear of failing always keep you on your toes.”
Tom Muller
Graphic designer from Belgium, founder of his own studio helloMuller Ltd, engaged in graphics and illustrations.
“I am inspired by the most ordinary things that surround me. I rarely have a complete lack of ideas: something is always spinning in my head, and then it’s a question of setting priorities and allocating time.
In search of inspiration, you can turn to your own work: working on one font for a whole year, I periodically borrowed from my old design sketches. Therefore, do not forget about your notebooks, and indeed old objects are a real treasure: looking at the covers of old books and the Hiroshima poster by Wim Crowell helped me a lot in my work.
So take heart: ideas are everywhere - they will definitely arise, especially if you don’t specifically look for them.”
Audrey Kawasaki
Los Angeles-based artist known for her subtly erotic illustrations, combining Japanese manga and art nouveau techniques.
“When I run out of ideas, it means that I simply cannot concentrate and sit down patiently to work, or I am worried about something that is not directly related to the matter. Over the years, I've developed a strategy: just put on headphones and listen to music. Music helps you distance yourself and not be distracted by other things. Although lately I’ve been listening to audio podcasts in such cases - you can find a lot of inspiring stories in them.”
Hoi Win
Director of the design department of NYTimes.com, who, in particular, developed the Mixel application - a tool for creating collages from any photographs and pictures.
“My recipe is to read a lot and do a lot of sketches or drafts. Reading is a long-term investment in your development: you need to constantly accumulate ideas, opinions, details, points of view, metaphors and symbols, so that you can then begin any project with a huge base of knowledge and sources of inspiration, and with the help of sketches you can activate all the passive information that stored in the head.
Visualization of different ideas - even unrelated to each other - will ultimately tell you what exactly you are missing in the project. The main thing is to draw quickly and without thinking, in no case drawing out details: this way you think not about the execution of the drawing, but about its content.”
Kim Holtermand
The Danish photographer, who specializes in architecture and landscape photography, started his career just a couple of years ago and continues to work as a fingerprint expert in the forensic department of the Danish police.
“Only music can return my creative spirit - it is an inexhaustible source of creativity. Many of my works were created with tracks from Sigur Rós (this is music for all times), Hammock, Max Richter, Air, Dead Can Dance, Helios, Johann Johannsson, Jonsi and Alex, M83, Olafur Arnalds, Trentemøller... In general, I I can go on forever."
Jasper Goodall
Freelance illustrator based in Birmingham. She promotes her own swimwear label, JG4B, and calls them wearable art.
“Several things help me: first, get away from the computer. Go to some city I haven't been to before and just wander around: I sat down in a café in Berlin one day and so many ideas came to mind that I honestly didn't know what to do with them.
I also go to the library at the local University of Art and Design, where you can look through old editions of design and photography magazines. Then I come home, print out the articles and pictures I like and paste them into a thick notebook. After that, there’s more than enough ideas.”
Eric Spiekermann
Legendary German typographer, professor at the University of Bremen, compatriot and successor of the pioneer printer Gutenberg. He considers his interest in printing to be an incurable disease and calls it typographic mania.
I have 5 tips:
Take a break. Do something else that will distract you - wash your car or sort through old files on your computer.
Think. Sit back in your chair and just stop controlling your flow of thoughts.
Explore. Search for information, pick up your old projects, but avoid Google -
you can spend too much time before coming across anything useful.
Make sketches. Drawing is great, even if you are completely incapable of it. Visualizing thoughts immediately revives them.
Share. Take your mind off the problem, break your project into small parts and put them back together into one whole.
Ji Lee
Currently holds the position of Creative Director at Facebook. Before that, he worked in a similar position at Google. He not only conducts creative developments, but also gives lectures all over the world - including giving a master class at St. Petersburg State University.
“When “ideological block” sets in, I do several things. I take a long shower - old thoughts are washed away there, and I feel renewed. After that, I clean the apartment: I can’t think when there’s a mess all around. If there is still no result, I go for a bike ride around the neighborhood and try not to think about my project at all. One way or another, this scheme always works.”
C Scott
Graphic designer and illustrator from the UK, famous for his 3D paper models. He lectures at Leeds College of Art and Design and periodically in different cities around the world. His clients included Vogue, Nike and Tiffany&Co.
“It happens to me quite often that I can’t come up with anything, but this happens to all creative people. I realized that there is only one way to overcome this: do not sit and wait for inspiration to return, but continue to work, use all the ideas that you have, no matter how inappropriate they may seem.”
Designunit
Danish design studio specializing in fashion, book and magazine design, and video creation.
“There are only two creatives in our studio. For each individual project, we attract different people, freelancers, who, in our opinion, are most suitable for the job. We are always looking for sources of inspiration and make sure to write them down so that we can return to them again later if necessary. These can be objects on the street that your eye catches (they must be photographed), books, fashion shows, films, blogs, etc. So every time we start a new project, we discuss things that might get us in the right mood and create mood boards—collections of pictures that inspire us.”
MINE
A San Francisco-based graphic design studio with nothing on its website other than this one statement: “We make books, packaging, graphics and interactive campaigns for scientific visionaries, educational revolutionaries, best-selling authors, museums, giant telecommunications corporations and Hollywood producers."
You are stuck if you seriously believe that there are no ideas, you don’t know how to get out of stagnation, and if you know how to get out, but doubt your abilities. In these cases, you need to do this:
I ask myself, am I really stuck? Sometimes we still generate a lot of ideas, but for some reason we convince ourselves that this is a creative crisis. And then, a creative crisis is also something new: you need to perceive it as a new experience.
I do nothing. If you're stuck, it means you can't clearly identify the problem that's stopping you from moving on. The best medicine in this situation is a new perspective. By abstracting myself from the problem, I can look at it better. I can go to the cinema or to a museum - one way or another, new experiences themselves will push me to the right decision.
I switch to what I do well to remind myself that I'm awesome. Sometimes I know how to solve a problem, but the solution seems very difficult. Then I take on other, simpler tasks: it could be a blog post, cleaning out the garage, whatever. By completing tasks quickly and well, I become convinced that I can do anything: and even that most difficult task seems like just another item that needs to be crossed off from the to-do list. And no unnecessary panic.
Airside
A creative agency from the UK that knows exactly what ideological stupor can lead to a dead end and what to do about it. The creators of the studio, which won many awards from D&AD and Design Week, decided to close it this year and take up their own projects: record a music album, go to Tokyo, go to work for another agency.
“Set your alarm for 5 am. When it rings, either get up and enjoy this unique time of day, or go back to sleep and have vivid, crazy dreams: since you will be in the stage of REM sleep, they will remain in your head even after you wake up, and will charge you with creativity for a long time. all day.
Don't sit and wait for something to pop into your head. Don't read magazines, don't search on Google - go outside, to the theater, to a museum, for a walk. Be sure to turn off your phone and do not take your computer with you.
Expand your area of interest. The more you consume a cultural product, the better you can understand what your client ultimately wants to see. Exchange opinions with colleagues, look at your project from different angles.
On the other hand, you can, on the contrary, not listen to anyone, abstract from all the rules and work the way you feel and how you like. If you are tired of the fact that in the creative industry everything comes down to a compromise between the client and the performer, just rely on your creative instinct and try to infect others with it.”
Kevin Dart
Freelance artist from Los Angeles who has done animation for Walt Disney, Dreamworks and Cartoon Network.
“I have a lot of tricks for such situations: for example, look at photos on the Internet, change your desktop to a table in a coffee shop and much more. But the best thing to do is just talk to your friends. They look at things completely differently than I do, and tell a lot of new things: they can throw in a cool inspiring photo or just encourage you with a couple of good words - it always makes you move on!”
Invisible Creature
The Seattle-based design studio's two founders are former punk rockers who embraced the DIY aesthetic and incorporated it into their design work. We received orders from Esquire, New York Times, Nike and Sony.
"Leave. This simple word has a million possible scenarios. We're just leaving the office. We never know in advance where we will end up: it could be a bookstore, a cinema, a park, a forest, a river bank, or just a house. The goal is always the same - to find something that inspires. It doesn't have to be something new: it has to be something that makes us want to come back to our desk, pick up a pencil and start drawing. We also hold our weekly meetings not in the office, but in a local cafe - we always get to sketch out more good ideas there.”
National Forest
The creators of the California think-tank National Forest call themselves innovative thinkers and visual engineers.
Their customers include Puma, Burton Snowboards and Roxy. Justin Cree.
Tess Dongho
“The main thing is to get up from behind the computer. Sitting in front of a screen has never helped anyone come up with ideas. I usually find original solutions when I don't really need them. The main thing is to look around carefully: one day I was incredibly inspired by an ice cream van that drove by. All these strategies agree on one thing - to find inspiration, you need to look for it in your surroundings and not get hung up.”
Go back to the past
No, we won't build a time machine. You just need to remember that part of your life when you were at the peak of success, energy flowed like a fountain, and you had enough strength to do great things. Surely there was such a time in your life. Even if in deep childhood.
Psychologists call these sensations a resource state - one in which a person has a lot of resources to solve emerging problems. Surround yourself with objects that remind you of this time. If there are photos and videos, look at them, remember everything down to the details. Your goal is to plunge into a familiar resource state again. This will allow you to feel the same emotions, the same delight again.
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Finding inspiration isn't hard if you know where to look. Well, if you have your own ways to do this, write in the comments. This will be useful to everyone.
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Why is it needed?
The main element of inspiration is the desire to create. It is often called a true stimulus for creative activity. Psychologists consider inspiration as a mental state in which emotionality increases. It is intangible, you cannot touch it, however, you can feel it. Inspiration is the hidden potential hidden deep within the soul. This state allows you to flawlessly perform creative tasks. In the modern world, it can be described as a stormy stream of thoughts.
An inspired person always achieves his goal. Often a fulfilled aspiration can be described by the phrase “something washed over me, and I was able to cope.” Such a person becomes more joyful, active, and feels delighted. Increased activity helps train memory, improve thinking, and develop imagination. An individual who is full of inspiration can create things in an unconventional way. Being in an inspired state, he comes up with new, brilliant and unique ideas, and answers to various questions that were previously unsolvable appear.
Inspiration comes on its own; it cannot be forced to appear or called. If you feel your muse, don’t miss your chance, start creating.
You need to understand that inspiration is necessary not only for artists and poets, but also for all other people. After all, it is universal for a variety of professions.
Sometimes people lose inspiration and have difficulty finding new sources of it. It is especially difficult to find when there is a deadline to meet. A person is in tension, and there is nowhere to draw a muse from.
