How to be inspired

Artists over time have been visited by the muse. By inspiration. When that flow of creativity stops, one could begin questioning life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Where does creativity come from and how can someone become inspired when the well has run dry?

As I mentioned in my Sparking Creativity by Doodling video, your creativity comes from within you.  

And when those ideas stop, it's easy to get upset about it and either give up entirely or search for new inspiration.

How can one be inspired? Well, here are my tips for giving your brain a break and letting the muse float in like a light fog in August, in Maryland. How's that for a very specific fog?

1. Meditate.

Meditation helps you in so many ways. My favorite meditation is actually called Sa Ta Na Ma, where you repeat the words loudly, quietly, not at all AKA in your head, quietly again, and loudly again, for 11 minutes. Look it up on Youtube for some guided meditations, you'll be amazed at the diversity of the options.

The more you do a daily practice, the easier it gets. 

Take it from the Atomic Habits book, all you need to do is make it easy for you to be successful at your habit. The Ten Percent Happier website and podcast has a wealth of scientific information that proves that meditation helps you in crucial ways. You'll start being more inspired if you try this out, so why not just challenge yourself to do it for 10 minutes a day for a week. 

How to get started meditating: https://www.tenpercent.com/how-to-meditate

2. Experience life.

Put down all your responsibilities and go do something. Travel somewhere. Try a restaurant that has food you've never eaten. You can draw inspiration from the flavors, from the decor, from the drive there, and from the people you meet. Take a walk and don't bring anything to distract you, meaning any audiobooks or podcasts. Your brain will wander a bit and you might come up with some solutions to your problems.

3. Keep your hands busy.

Doodling is a wonderful way for your brain to work on itself while you are keeping your hands busy. Doodling helps you remember things because you're basically zoning out while you draw the same zig zag lines 24 times. Other popular things you can do to keep your hands busy are crocheting, knitting, needlepoint, doing a puzzle, gardening, 

4. Become more curious.

Engage that bit of your brain that asks questions. Where did the 4-year-old version of you go, asking a million questions? Ask why, ask how, ask how come! Think about the things that you see around you when you walk around outside. How did it get to be that way? How does a grasshopper see you when you pass by? Are those clouds a specific name? Why is the sky blue? How do airplanes fly? 

Another way to do this is to fall into a Wikipedia rabbit hole and find something you're interested in; say, an artist or a technique, and research it. Click on the links and find out more. 

Read books and then read more books. Go to the library and ask a librarian for a suggestion. Browse books and topics you are interested in. Try something new that  you haven't done before.

How do you get inspired? Let me know in the comments what works for you!