Without a spark of inspiration or the feeling of being in the flow, creativity always stagnates. Yet artists wait or look for inspiration before starting anything. However, this attitude holds back your creativity and does not account for its emergence.
‘Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes while working.’
Because creative inspiration often comes to you unexpectedly, there are several ways to seek it out precisely.
Inspiration is motivation
The dictionary definition of inspiration is, Inspiration is a creative insights that motivates you to do something. So motivation or determination to take action is crucial to the whole concept of inspiration. So having ideas is step one, which is always followed by doing something with them.
1. Inspiration comes through other people’s works
A painter cannot do without other painters. The same goes for the musician and the designer. Inspiration comes subconsciously when you look at the work of your favorite artists and discover you can do the same yourself. In fact, adoration creates the freedom in emotions that you need to become creative yourself. You probably started a craft yourself because you were inspired by other artists.
Seeing or hearing other people’s creative work awakens your creative mind.
It is also often suggested that “great artists steal,” which is actually a twisted statement by the painter Picasso. He actually meant to say that much art has used another existing work of art as inspiration, which is distorted in the creative process according to the artist’s own desires. Otherwise, a new work is obsolete and will never be seen as original.
2. Search for new insights
Art critic David Sylvester‘s famous quote: “Artists must be allowed to go through bad periods. hits the nail on the head exactly. Sometimes you have been working the same way for a long time, or you have unconsciously developed a fixed method for creativity. To get out of this, you need new insights that give you new inspiration.
In fact, creativity equals change. Your tastes and style are constantly changing unconsciously. Broadening your horizons by listening to music you don’t know yet or visiting a new museum gives you different perspectives. If you have an artistic personality, you will find that you already want to seek this out from within yourself.
3. Get distracted on time
Getting bogged down in details often leads to frustration, but also to losing sight of the bigger picture. An artist always starts with a general sketch and then moves on to the details. If you find yourself struggling with this, there is only one thing that works: Do something else for a short time.
Make some coffee, take a walk, or read a book. This is because in your unconscious, you are engaged in the process of what you have created, and you will get a clearer picture. This perspective is necessary to solve the progression of writer’s block as well.
Research has shown that ideas originate in the shower because you enter a relaxed state where our subconscious can push ideas forward without restriction.
4. Manifest your creative desires
Creativity is all about emotions and a connection with feelings. Without such a euphoric feeling, your critical voice will always take over and lead the process. Therefore, starting a creative project or plan without enthusiasm or inspiration makes little sense.
It is therefore important, even if it sounds woolly, that deep down inside you truly believe that you are capable of creating anything you want to create. After this, the task is to connect with your feelings, creating freedom and allowing ideas to come naturally to you.
Research indicates that positive emotions are crucial to creative progress
Several studies have shown that having positive emotions is essential to a creative process. This may sound logical, but it shows that feelings of frustration and perfectionism are counterproductive for creative inspiration.
5. Philosophy and Reflection on Life
You are a thinking being who, to a greater or lesser degree, thinks about a worldview, your existence, and your relationship to other people. This vision of yourself and the world is unique to each person and therefore incredibly inspiring. Ask yourself:
- How do I think about existence?
- What does love, fear, and sadness mean to me?
- How do I want to tell stories?
- What is the meaning of situations or symbolism in my life?
There are many philosophical questions that lend themselves very well to a song, artwork, or design. All it takes is that you find them interesting enough to do something with them. Inspiration always arises within you and is related to your own worldview.
6. Asking honest questions
A project or work of art is never finished; at least that’s what most artists think. The thought that it could always have been done better or differently is also justified. Why? Because creativity is infinite and can go in any direction, To really feel that something is finished, you will have to set boundaries for yourself. You always do this by asking questions:
- Is it clear what I originally wanted to say?
- Are there too many details or not enough?
- Does the shape, color and expression match the original idea?
These kinds of questions help you to make (the final) considerations and bring you back to your first moment of inspiration, which motivated you to make that thing.
7. Alcohol and drugs?
It is often thought that the famous poet Bukowski became so excellent and famous through alcoholism. This has freed up the notion that narcotic or psychiatric drugs would benefit inspiration. It’s actually the other way around. Bukowski had a drinking problem and was a writer. He also later disclosed that he had as much inspiration without alcohol as with a bottle of whiskey.
The bottom line is that sometimes the use of alcohol or drugs can make you see things from a different perspective. Yet it has been shown that this perspective can be achieved even without psychedelics or cannabis and is therefore always accessible. Most of the greatest artists never used drugs or alcohol to get inspiration.
Conclusion on inspiration
Inspiration is a muse that accompanies you unexpectedly and disappears again when you want to control it. So it works best to let go of the fear of “no inspiration” so you find out that it comes naturally when you start something.
The different ways of generating creative insights work differently for each person and therefore cannot be seen as a button you turn in your head. So, be easy and let it come to you.
