Goal of the day: 824 words. Written: 879.
So you want to create, right? And you need inspiration to create, don't you? I know this desire. And I can already see from the look on your face that you lack inspiration, at least sometimes.
(Well, well, well, I can't see your face. I can only imagine it. Your beautiful eyes, by the way!)
Why would you need inspiration? ...Well - many things. It goes without saying. And you should know that. Maybe you work in a creative job in an advertising company, or you're looking for unique business solutions for your company, or you write, draw, make music in your spare time or at work. Sometimes you come home and decide to do a little renovation and paint a big red flower on your wall.
You might even need inspiration and creativity to write some papers if you are still studying at a university or college. All these things need inspiration. Ideas. Creative juices. Pressure in the head and flame in the heart. ... But.
Inspiration can be a devilishly hard beast to catch. And if you're reading this article, I'm almost certain that even if you're not currently trying to find inspiration for your new work, you've at least experienced a lack of inspiration before.
And I promise you, you will continue to experience it in the future. Imagine this beast's chase in the dark. In the woods. In a tangle of cursed firs and ferns. With no torch. And knowing that the beast has taken your rucksack with your car keys, wallet and phone. It's a horrible feeling to try to catch it, but... you can't. Right?
But here's some good news for you: even if your inspiration beast has already headed for a dungeon full of tyres and plastic bags... it's still catchable. I promise. Let me tell you how. 😉
But first, why should we listen to you, Daniel?
Good question. Thank you! And I'm glad - if you've had this question, you're smart enough to think for yourself and not believe every teacher that comes around the corner. And for that alone I give you a big plus. The second plus is for reading this article. 😉
I will admit, however, that inexperienced teachers with almost nothing to go on I bloody hate it. I hate all those cheap coaches who claim to have all the answers, but only repeat what they have learnt on Facebook from pretty pictures with quotes. I hate the same people who write articles claiming to be saying a fact that everyone knows, but who do not provide any scientific evidence for it. I hate it.
All these "brilliant" teachers were always dumber in my eyes than the earthworm eating my apples in the backyard. So, if you are wondering why you should trust me, here is my story.
My name is Daniel. As you've probably already guessed. And I've been writing a blog about goals, challenges, simplicity and creativity for more than two years now - Debesyla(.lt). Before that, I spent three years working on one giant science fiction encyclopaedia with millions of fantastic worlds and characters. And then this November I took it upon myself to write a 51,000-word mystery novel in one month (again). And I am also a huge fanatic for new challenges, new challenges, new systems and new ideas, for new experiments on myself and for checking encyclopaedias of scientific facts with my own body. Well, I won't expand too much on myself. If you want to get to know me better, write me a letter or a comment in the Cloud. And I'll reply to you.
Let's try to find out why creative ideas are sometimes not born.
Why do ideas sometimes hide from us?
Good question. But what is stopping our ideas from being born? What are the psychological and physical external factors that prevent us from concentrating (or just relaxing) and generating something fantastic? Or more precisely... What's stopping your brain?
|| Pala, are you stressing the brain, Daniel?
Yes. I stress the brain. You see - you are not the brain. You are not your thoughts. You are not the ideas... ...And it's damn elementary: sometimes we are so mad to create that we seem to spend three uninterrupted hours in front of a blank sheet of paper (or a desk), treat ourselves to fifteen Facebook and coffee breaks... But it still doesn't make the brain think. Even though it wants to think, somehow, the brain starts to say, like a stubborn little child, "No, I'm not! I won't!". And tramp, tramp, tramp... You get zero ideas from the brain that day. Thank you, brain. You use 80% our food energyand we don't even get a penny back. Great!
All this is because of one simple thing: even though our subconscious minds have been up all damn day happily thinkbut we don't notice that thinking. I have spoken about the duality of our brain in my an article on why it's so hard to control your feelings for this very reason. But in simple terms, some parts of our brain are always thinking, while other parts of our brain are watching that thinking. It watches when it suits them. When we give them a comfortable environment. When we allow them to watch.
...But what do we often do? Well, we stuff our wondering brains with a million extraneous things - plans, emotions, the desire to eat and sleep, or just kill ourselves with tiredness. It's hardly surprising how they stop working after that, is it? 😉
|| So who is hiding our ideas then?
The answer is: there are... three categories of idea-hiders (and, in practice, killers). More than a year ago, I wrote about the three main obstacles to creativity, where I asked Cloud readers one question: what are the problems that prevent them from creating what they have always dreamed of creating?
And their answers were surprisingly consistent with what I had already found when surfing the web.
Creativity Killer No 1: Stress
I will start with what you must have experienced in your creative life. Or at least you can imagine. Do you think it's easy to create when your head is constantly attacked by extraneous thoughts? When you're constantly thinking about your loved one fighting for their life in a nearby hospital? When your little child has started screaming (again)?
If your entire future career and where you live next month - at home or on the street - depends on this piece of work you are trying to make now?
You know, if it's easier for you to create this way... Then write to me. And I'll give you a prize of a few hundred euros for being exceptional. 😉 Because let's face it - stress and personal problems... don't go well with a creative life.
(To be continued tomorrow.)