Creative people are constantly on the lookout for something, anything in their environment that can spark a solution to a current creative challenge. ⠀
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Everything claiming to give you “inspiration” is in fact either the advice on how to get yourself to work when you don’t want to or some techniques on sourcing the ideas if you are out of them. That’s it. If you'd try to google articles on “how to get inspiration” and I bet you will end up reading lists with advising, making up restrictions, or referencing you to the sources of ideas like books by famous authors, TV shows, blogs, or “inspiring” Pinterest boards.⠀
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Commonly we think of people being randomly struck by a flash of inspiration, so we see inspiration as a feeling that occurs almost by accident. However, inspiration is a process. We become mentally iinspired to do something. The key is to learn how to create an inspired state when we need to. For example, as photographers, we won't pass a shooting because "we're not in the mood". So, what is inspiration? It’s something we control, which enables you to produce your best work. ⠀⠀
The truth is that you just have to show up at the desk and work. The creative process is messy and sometimes exhausting. ⠀
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𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄 "𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍" 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐖𝐄 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐒. ⠀⠀
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This does not mean that we are being lazy. We do get ourselves behind the desk. Our mind just goes blank reflecting the terrifying emptiness on the start. We’ve all been there. However, just as inspiration does not exist, nor does its opposite. Because when you feel blocked, it’s not the absence of inspiration. It’s some very concrete reason you must identify and work with.
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So, let's rephrase,
"𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐒, 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆."⠀
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Do you believe in inspiration?