One of the biggest challenges to being creative is finding that inspiration for a new idea or pursuit. It’s even more difficult when your fields of interest are, in my case anyway, pretty narrow. The metaphor of “waiting for lightning to strike” feels pretty accurate to me, especially given that inspiration often results in a jolt of energy.
Of course, the tough part is that those jolts don’t just happen spontaneously. The creative process would be so much easier if all the ideas were waiting patiently in a queue in your head–just pull the next one from the head of the line when you need it! Unfortunately, that predictability doesn’t exist. Instead, I’ve found the best that I can do is create the conditions where I’m best positioned for an idea to come. While one can’t predict where lightning will strike, one can always head toward where storms are forecast.
I’m not advocating, of course, that creative souls go stand outside in thunderstorms (although watching storms from proper safety outside can be pretty inspiring). Instead, I think we can all come up with a mental list of places, views, activities, environments, or other conditions that free the crazy world of the subconscious to rise to the top of mind. These experiences often result in feelings of awe, reflection, peace, or contentment. I’m no neuroscientist, but it seems that those feelings somehow release the rest of the brain to go to work, revisiting old thoughts and generating new ones.
Many have written about their personal sources of inspiration, both general and specific. For me, this realization came about after these last few months of exploring. While we didn’t specifically plan our activities and destinations with the idea of building the environment for creativity, it turns out that the changes in venue have been great for understanding more about what makes me feel most inspired.
Generally speaking, I’ve found that travel, nature, and finding new places to hangout provide me with the best opportunities to clear my mind, enjoy the moment, and look for new ideas or explorations. Conditions don’t have to be dramatic–I’ve found just as much inspiration raising a glass in a microbrewery as I have hiking up a mountain (plus, it’s hard to find mountains in Indiana). While these moments don’t always result in something new, I do believe the feelings these experiences create linger and are helpful to the mind in so many ways. I may move on to the next thing, but the engine of the brain keeps running on the fuel created out of those special moments and experiences. While it’s not always possible to be or do what we want, it’s important to prioritize those conditions that allow your creative mind to be at its best.