Finding Inspiration

My absolute favorite present I got for Christmas this past year was a Rolling Stones vinyl box set recorded live at The El Mocambo. I watched that box set for a long time, hoping it would go on sale and then my fantastic mother-in-law picked it up for me for Christmas. There are very few things that inspire me like live music and especially live albums and especially The Rolling Stones. Listening to them and a few other bands almost always bring me out of a creative slump.

Every creative person that I know, myself included, goes through seasons where we feel uninspired. I hate the feeling of sitting down to write a song or produce a piece of music and having nothing. I don’t feel anything, hear anything, or have any idea where to start. Throughout the years I’ve come up with some mechanisms that can at least get my mind or start stirring and reduce the fear of the blank page so that ideas can start to flow.

EXPERIENCE ART YOU LOVE

Just like my live Rolling Stones records, maybe you have a favorite album, band, tv show, or movie that always inspires you. It doesn’t have to be music to inspire music or film to inspire film. I’ve been inspired to write music from seeing a Picasso that I thought was amazing. I’m always inspired by Wes Anderson films, documentaries about history, and biographies about almost anyone. Spending time consuming inspiring things can be a spark that starts the fire of creativity.

To be incredibly practical about this I want to suggest a few things.

1. Make a playlist of songs that inspire you. Music that makes you feel, that stirs nostalgia, or that pushes the boundaries.

2. Keep some books around. Short stories, inspirational books with short chapters, or poetry that paints pictures.

3. Find visual art that opens your eyes. Make an album on your phone of pictures of family, pictures from artists you love, or photography of places that make you dream.

SPEND TIME WITH INSPIRED PEOPLE

Do you know people who realllllly love creativity? People obsessed with music or films or museums? I absolutely have those friends and I hope you do too. There have been so many times that I have felt a little uninspired and I know I can go spend time with them and borrow from their well of creative excitement. It doesn’t have to be people in the same creative discipline as you, just people that are excited about creativity in and of itself.

Here are some things you can do.

1. Just go spend time with those inspired people. Grab a coffee or a beer and just ask them what they’re listening to, watching, or reading.

2. Spend some time with them and ask them what they’re working on. Let them talking about their work breathe some life into what you’re struggling with.

SPEND TIME WITH PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE YOU

I talked about this in a recent edition of the MYFI Monday newsletter, but I honestly can’t stress it enough. Prioritizing time with people that you connect with is so important. Sometimes it’s friends and people that you know well, but sometimes it’s just people whose work you admire. Whomever it may be make sure and prepare and ask them meaningful insightful questions about specific work they’ve done or specific seasons of their lives.

Try these things.

1. Call a good friend that inspires you and set up a regular hang, lunch, or coffee with them for the purpose of just encouraging and inspiring each other.

2. DM one of your heroes and ask if you can get 30 minutes on the phone or a FaceTime. If they’re local ask if you can meet up. You never know unless you ask.

3. At the very least spend time with the art these inspiring people have made and if you can find a documentary or some behind the scenes footage that can inspire you even more.

MAKE SOMETHING OF NO CONSEQUENCE

Lastly, sometimes the best way to get out of a creative rut is to make it until you don’t have to fake it. Don’t work on your current project or anything of consequence. Just start sketching, journaling, or singing something that really doesn’t matter. Just have fun. Just explore, make a mess, and then throw it away. Just make stuff and keep making a mess until something worth while finds its way through.

Here’s some way I do that myself.

1. I make beats on a drum machine

2. I doodle in a sketch book (I’m a terrible artist)

3. I write poetry about inanimate objects

Everyone feels uninspired from time to time. The most important thing is the know that you aren’t the only and that this uninspired moment will pass. Inspiration is a tricky thing. Most of the time it’s not trying to elude us, we just can’t slow down to its pace long enough to connect with it. I encourage you to make some notes somewhere you can access for those moments that you find yourself a little creatively flat.

Remember, you have a lot of art left to create and the world needs it.

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