Finding creativity and inspiration

You probably wondered what happened to my blog.

Where did he go?

Well, to be honest … I had run out of inspiration.

I needed a new perspective. How I dealt with some things and handled work was burning me out.

I lacked creativity.

For those with broader life experience, the act of being creative begins with a ritual. They've mastered how to channel their creative being (We'll call it "genius" from here on).

But that is not me.

Not yet.

My genius usually comes to me when I least expect it.

I could be washing dishes or doing the most mundane of routines... I'll be in the shower, and bam! I figure out how to support a client, finish a blog or visualise a new project concept.

Except this hadn't happened to me for some time.

I was facing a creative block.

I'll tell you what this looked like to me:

• I wasn't inspired or interested. I was disconnected from my role as a creator.

• I felt bored and lethargic.

• My motivation to finish blogs and projects was going.

• I was jealous of other people's creativity — they make it look so effortless.

• And I began questioning the value of my work.

It had me worried.

Truthfully, I struggled with an internal mental block. I didn't know what to write to you.

Creativity is a funny thing.

The nature of it, finding it, and using it.

We all want to be creative (I know I do.) ... but it's not so simple.

You can't say the words and make a miracle happen.

I stayed at a hostel, met new people, and stepped away from the usual grind. I had to reawaken my creative genius.

The month away helped me realise I wasn't the only one.

I discovered new stories and new friends — met aspiring artists, corporate workers, students, and retirees.

All I could do was remind myself to be present — live for this moment. Take mental notes and add the rest to my journal.

A difference in perspective

Annie Muller on Medium writes that we have three distinct roles as creative beings. And each role is as important as the other:

• Consumer - To observe, read, listen, watch and appreciate what's out there.

• Curator - To choose what we like or don't, develop our style and taste, and find common ground with others.

• Creator - To use our skills, insights and experiences to offer what we have and grow.

I needed contrast.

I lacked depth and honest thinking.

I needed time away from my usual input.

I had to rediscover what made me creative.

The time away helped me reset and adjust to a simple way of finding ideas. To help filter and develop my ideas. And help choose the best ones by giving them my due attention. To do this meant returning to simple methods that worked in the past:

• Detoxing from social media, the news and most online things.

• Engaging in deeper conversations and relationships with family and friends.

• Sitting with my boredom — treating myself to artist days out where I did new things that made me happy.

• Challenging myself to write daily up to three pages every morning.

• Finding inspiration in the daily motions of everyday life by watching people go by.

Now and then, I came head-to-head with my creative block. "Was this the hurdle I was soon to overcome?" I thought. Serious soul-searching was being done.

Picture a man at the beach with a metal detector trying to score lost treasure — that was me — no starting point, no finish line either. But something was being found ...

Bit by bit, I felt emptier, less foggy and generally less stressed about the work I was putting out.

It's a process, not an event

Most people don't want to deal with embarrassment or shame on their way to learning a new skill. The possibility to look stupid tends to slow us down or stop us from making any attempt at all.

Are you willing to embarrass yourself in the name of learning?

It's a tough hill to climb reminding yourself that your talents are ever changing. You can easily nudge yourself in one direction or another, depending on how you view the challenges ahead.

I've fought through mental and internal barriers to see my genius blossom once again.

Looking at creativity through a growth mindset has reaffirmed my belief in improving through effort and practice.

A lot of practice and work

Like lifting weights in the gym — If you slack and get lazy, you can't expect to get back to lifting 100 kg right away.

So why treat your creative process any differently?

Remember this — Anything not used gets forgotten. So this is what I did:

• I took daily photos.

• Picked up and dropped more books than I could count

• Shared something small every day with the people I was with

• Told more and more stories

• And I kept turning up daily.

My time away reignited my love for creating things. I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered all it takes to be creative all the time, but little by little, I’m getting a good idea of what it takes to fire up my creative genius when needed.

It dawned on me that my creative genius was simply shy. I had to be ready for the good, the bad, and the ugly side of creativity.

To be creative requires a lot of practice. More practice requires more work. And to do more work requires you to have the courage to ship your work out there. Choose a pace you can sustain and ship your work consistently.

Creativity comes with its ups and downs. You have to keep going. Do not quit. It’s also about being ambitious. Keep yourself busy. Think bigger.

The years spent embracing teachings, personal learnings, and failings bring together your unique view on how things should be created and presented.

Own it and pass it along.