“To remain inspired, all you have to do is to open your eyes and observe what’s going on around you. Inspiration is everywhere. ”
It's 2016! We have the entire brand new year for creative sparks and projects. I was thinking about my creative moments a lot during my trip in Europe. And also about the moments when I do not feel creative at all. You get it, right? The moment when it feels like your creativity either packed its bags and left for vacation, or it's at 0 degrees celsius and needs some help to unfreeze.
When do you feel the most creatively energized? For me it's after watching a good movie. When browsing shelves in a bookstore. After having a great conversation. After I travel. I came to a conclusion that it's important to pay attention to both creative and uncreative moments, so that we can capitalize on the things and actions that awaken our creativity the most. I compiled a list of several activities that I believe can help spark anyone's creativity. Maybe they will resonate with you too!
1. Innovate your home and your office
“The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. ”
It feels satisfying when we return to our home or office that is comfortable, cozy, beautiful, and well-run, doesn't it? It's great when things at our home and in our office have their place. And it's also beneficial for a good energy flow to move things around from time to time as well. I do not suggest that we move furniture around every month. That might be unrealistic and also could become costly. But what I do suggest is to see our spaces as a repertory of things that we have collected, and to keep coming up with innovative uses for these things. Stepping outside of the box and being innovative will bring fresh energy into familiar spaces. Plus, you are definitely being creative while doing this. You can also come up with home/office projects that will energize you and innovate your spaces.
2. Put your phone away and have a conversation
“The best ideas start as conversations.”
I will always remember the night when I ran into a young lady from San Francisco at a local Houston sushi restaurant. We both sat at the bar and started chatting. We spent a couple hours talking, sharing our photos, expressing our passions and likes. It was excellent. I loved every second of the conversation we had. I left feeling inspired, connected, centered, grateful and glowing. It's conversations like this that we need more of in our lives. At least I know I do. Sometimes small conversations can actually be pretty significant for your mind and soul.
I'm going to pay more attention to when I'm just aimlessly grabbing my phone to spend unpredictable time on it. Instead, I will make an effort to have actual conversations with people around me, and will try to surround myself with people who inspire me. I think that there is a lot of inspiration to be found in our phones. After all, that's where Sparkling Word and many more great inspiration platforms can be found as well. However, love affairs with our phones should not replace or be more frequent than the time we spend having quality human conversations.
What would happen if we made an effort to deepen the relationships we already have? What would happen if we realized that there exists a state of complacency that can fill our relationships in which we start assuming instead of asking deep and honest questions that can reveal great thoughts and ideas? What would happen if we saw that the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation today might not be there tomorrow?
3. Be creative by simply doing
“The inescapable link between failure and innovation is a lesson you can learn only through doing.”
Yes, just like that. We drag our feet to start, continue, or finish our projects. We wait for the perfect day when we feel super creative and energized to follow through on our ideas. I personally drag my feet most of the time because there is the possibility that whatever it is I want to do might not work out or might not be perfect. When that happens, I have to remind myself to focus on progress and trying to be my best instead of focusing on my work being perfect. Only when I'm creating something, I can learn and better myself, as opposed to just waiting for something to happen and letting the perfect be the enemy of good.
And just like Gandhi said - 'Healthy discontent is the prelude to to progress'. Have you found this to be true as well? You feel uneasiness before you reach a creative or other breakthrough. You keep putting off taking the leap and when you finally do, it's great and you feel like you just moved several kilometers forward?
By the way, did you know that the most productive time of our day are the 2 hours right after we wake up? Read more here. It's definitely something I'm going to pay attention to and rearrange my morning habits シ
4. Do something for others
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
And how else to unleash our creativity? How about by doing something for someone else? We can help arrange a surprise birthday party. Or be in charge of the birthday party. Be in charge of a baby shower for a friend. The opportunities are limitless when we put some thought to it. There is always a way how to be creative. Cheers!