One topic that is endlessly discussed in the creative community is inspiration. Where to find it, how it works, what to do when it’s not there and how to handle it when it is. Personally I love to talk about inspiration, and constantly seek out new ways to get more of it in my life.
While I was in Costa Rica a few weeks ago, I felt super inspired by all the natural beauty that surrounded me. Exploring the lush jungle, watching exotic birds and gazing out into the infinite ocean filled me up with happy feeling that made me believe that anything is possible. I felt that any dream I imagined could come true.
I’ve now been home for 10 days, and it’s been hard to transition back into reality. With the Make It spring show in Edmonton just around the corner, I feel pretty overwhelmed with my work load and all the things on my to-do list. I was finding it really hard to tap into the joyfulness that I regularly felt in Costa Rica. My inspiration bucket seemed to be drying up as fast as my tan is fading!
As someone who is extremely self aware, I constantly question what I’m doing, being and feeling. I find the more that I tap into why I am the way I am, the more clarity and understanding I have to make the changes I need to make. It also is a good way to knock myself out of being in my head and into the present moment.
What I realized when I thought about why I was feeling overwhelmed, was that I wasn’t allowing myself to be inspired by my current surroundings. I was constantly thinking back blissfully to how I felt when I was travelling and all the amazing experiences I had. Dwelling on the past wasn’t going to help me be inspired in the present, and if anything it was just bumming me out.
When I understood what was going on in my brain, I made the conscious decision to start allowing my current surroundings to inspire and fill me up with the creative energy I crave. This little switch in perception made me realize that inspiration is everywhere if you are open to it. As I started to pay attention to the little whispers, I realizes how much I had been missing. From conversations, reading articles and watching videos, I realized that everywhere I looked there were beautiful, sparkly nuggets of inspiration!
Sometime it can be easy to fall in the cycle of thinking, “when I have X then I will feel Y.” But as you might already know, that day never happens. Everything we experience has to be in the present moment for it to exist. When I started to be more conscious of what I was thinking about, I was able to make the switch to appreciating and being grateful to everything around me.
Being a creative entrepreneur can be really hard sometimes. There are infinite possibilities of what you can do with your business and sometimes it’s hard to know what to choose. When you are lacking inspiration it’s even worse because you don’t have your heart guiding you. But, from what I’ve personally discovered, inspiration is more a practice in opening your eyes to what’s around you instead of seeking it out.
What actually inspires you doesn’t really matter. For me, it’s sometimes weird, random and insignificant things that make the biggest impact. All that’s important is that you open your heart up enough to allow it in. Once you do that, you can create something to send out in the world. The more passion that goes into it, the better chance that it will inspire someone else. This is the cycle that happens when you make the stuff that you love to make. It’s a lot like tennis!
Speaking of which, I have a favour to ask you. I created a pilot episode of #MakeItTV for Telus STORYHIVE. It’s all about how artists are able to make a living selling what they create. If I win the competition, I will be able to do a whole series, which means the world to me and the handmade community! Please take a moment and vote. It would also be amazing if you could share it with your creative friends.
Thank you so much and please share your own perspective in the comments below 🙂