10 Ways to Seek Inspiration (Day 10)
Lately I’ve been feeling uninspired to create. I know, perfect time to do a 30 day blogging challenge, right?!? I haven’t been taking a ton of photos recently or having a desire to create things to share to my Instagram which I typically LOVE doing! Trying new things and capturing photos along the way to share with my Almost Fabulous me community brings me so much joy! Lately however, it just hasn’t been doing it for me. I look at my Instagram profile and realize I haven’t posted in days, a week or more even, and I feel this fleeting desire to do so but for whatever reason the creative drive just isn’t there.
Call it the summer heat frying my creative brain cells (LOL. But actually, it’s hot), call it an uninspired season, call it whatever you want, I’m struggling creatively! Last weekend I even sat down to work on my new Dream Journals and after a few hours working on them felt defeated. They just weren’t what I wanted them to be. It felt forced and I felt uninspired.
In honor of this season of being creatively challenged, I thought I’d share some of my favorite ways to re-infuse some inspiration back into my life. Now perhaps I should take some of my own advice and use one of these tactics myself, and ASAP, what do you think???
1) Go for a walk — I have to be very particular about my walking time now that we’re in triple digit heat most days in Austin, Texas but getting outside and soaking up the sunshine is one of my favorite things to do. There’s something transformative about the sun infusing its energy into you. Grab a walking buddy, plenty of water and sunscreen and get out there and move your body!
2) Listen to my favorite podcast — I have a solid amount of go-to podcasts I listen to and while they all have their own unique nuances, they all share one thing in common - they teach me something new.
3) Morning Pages — I’ve been doing Morning Pages for about two years now and it’s by far one of my favorite additions to my morning routine. Morning Pages gives your brain the opportunity to release any pent up thoughts and start the day with a fresh, clean slate. Plus, you never know what creative ideas are just waiting to be released onto the page and out into the world!
4) Read — Reading, similar to writing, gives your mind the opportunity to escape. If it’s a fiction book it’s an escape to another time and place. If it’s a non-fiction book, which is more often than not my genre of choice, it provides an escape from your own trials and tribulations but provides insight into any number of ideas as crafted by a different point of view or a unique voice.
5) Try something new — Changing up our traditional routine and putting ourselves even just slightly out of our comfort zone can be an effective way to invite inspiration into our lives. One of my favorite ways to do this is by exploring a new restaurant. You know I’m all about an experiential moment so I like to look for the most picturesque restaurants, get dressed up and go out for a night on the town.
6) Browse my favorite magazines — I’ve always loved magazines! They’re one of my favorite ways to find inspiration whether it be for the kitchen, my home or even my closet. I’m an extremely visual person so magazines are a fantastic way to engage the senses creatively.
7) Pinterest — Pinterest is really just like an online magazine but it’s a great way to get after some of those projects on your to-do list. Recently I wanted to learn how to crochet something specific and turned to Pinterest for the pattern. Pinterest can help take your ideas and transform them into fully fleshed out, real-life things!
8) Catch up with friends/family — I spend most of my time Monday through Friday in my own head and with my own company. I think that can be what trips me up sometimes. I tend to over-analyze and over-think just about everything. Taking the opportunity to talk to friends and/or family or even new people you meet out and about can help you see or process things through a unique point of view and perhaps approach your own creative endeavors in a new manner.
9) Clean — This is such a random one and I genuinely do not like this chore but I do like the aftermath of it. I LOVE having a clean and tidy home. Also, I love the opportunity to immerse myself in a mindless task like cleaning. I usually blast music and get to work for at least a few hours. Since it is such a mindless task, cleaning and moving my body while doing it can help engage my muscles (both mentally and physically!) in a different way. Plus if I’m being honest it just feels so good to complete a task like cleaning.
10) Drive/road trip — It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve taken a proper road trip but it’s a great way to travel and see the country, plus it’s a great way to seek inspiration. Traveling the US last summer, seeing new places, new states every week, sometimes every day, invited so much inspiration into my life. It took me out of my comfy little bubble in numerous ways and showed me places I’ve never dreamed of seeing. The good news is I don’t think you need to get in a van and travel the US for 3 months, you can seek just as much inspiration hopping in the car on a weekend and driving to the next town. The only requirement is to keep your eyes on the road (obviously if you’re the driver please keep your eyes on the road but I mean if you’re the passenger too!). Don’t lose this opportunity spending the entire drive with your nose in your phone. Eyes up and out!
I recognize that we all have our own ways of getting inspired but hopefully the above ideas can help get your own creative juices flowing! If you have any other methods you like to use, I’d love to hear from you! Here’s to getting back into our creative flow.