Always in the shower! I find that inspiration flows when I am doing my part of the creative equation: taking care of myself and showing up to write consistently. It's harder to hear those ideas speak if I am not in a place to listen well.
That’s a very good point about listening to it too! Personally that’s what I think of as also listening and following my gut… it’s hard to do if we aren’t in tune with ourselves and recognise the different “itches”
I appreciate this perspective. I definitely had to face this fear when committing to post once a week. Prior to Substack I was focused more on speaking and video work, etc. Previously writing was reserved for moments of inspiration for Facebook or Instagram or my journal. Sharing my journal with the world is a rather new thing. Like you, I’ve discovered the inspiration often comes when you’re least looking for it. The thing I love about writing is I now have an outlet for it! I have found the key is being present enough that when the inspiration comes to make sure I take notes!
Yes I also find it to vary depending on the medium! And writing gives me the freedom to act on the inspiration immediately, throw something together and send it out into the world. With my embroidery art there’s always the patience barrier which sometimes can be hard to overcome… sketching is also much quicker so since the kids came along I’m finding myself more drawn to quicker mode of expression (thought I’m still embroidering as part of my job ofc) so glad to have you here with me!
Yes, I feel this so much too. The more I push and try to force an idea to strike, my creative brain just shuts down. But when I'm not forcing it and just enjoying living life, I find myself almost overwhelmed with the ideas that come forth 🤎
Living life in the present moment is the greatest fuel for inspiration isn’t there 💓 I feel like since I took my back me sketch habit of a couple minutes quick sketch in the morning while my daughters play it has done wonders in centering me in the present again (the mind can easy fly away if we don’t tame it, at least for me 🫣) x
Absolutely loved this. I’ve found there is a direct correlation to how much time I spend on my phone and my lack of inspiration. The more mindless content I consume drains me of my own inspiration and creative flow. As soon as I clear my head, get off my phone and get outside, it comes back in so many ways. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely get inspiration from other people online (like this!) and learn so much but there’s a fine line of over consuming content and I tend to cross it haha
Oh yes I totally feel you! It's the same for me - when I'm too much on the phone I've got zero ideas left. I have a 5 minute timer to not scroll. It's why I stopped marketing on Instagram a couple of years gap actually because it sucked everything out of me even if I was supposed to "just use it for business". On here I mostly go to the new post feature and just write haha so far so good - do you have a system to be sure you get the writing you want done?
Ahh yes I get that, even when it's for work it still sucks a lot out of you. And I can easily get carried away scrolling haha. I should probably put some sort of system in place but I usually put my phone in another room once I start writing and that seems to help me get in a flow!
I was literally reading this and thinking about all of the good points it makes while also feeling kind of hopeless and uninspired about my own writing when boom! An idea came to me... and it must have been inspired by reading this. So thanks!
Thankfully there are people like you that provide inspiration for others! I was so inspired by your architectural embroidery that I could not wait to start doing it. Traditional embroidery had so many rules and the subject matter did not always interest or inspire me. I love buildings and there you were showing how to take a single strand of floss and turn it into an architectural drawing on fabric!
Oh Deb this makes me heart sing!! Always so lovely to hear what caught the attention for my work and there’s really some magic in the simplicity (yet luxurious look) of the single stranded architectural pieces 💞
Inspiration, creativity, productivity, energy (whatever one will call it) is not a constant.
I have written enough content for 2 months within a week when I was inspired, only to go for 2 weeks without writing anything because I just didn't feel I had any ideas to share.
Sometimes we're operating at 170% and at other times it's hardly 20%. Inspiration is like happiness: no one has it all the time. There are peaks and troughs. The key is to seize the moment when it arrives.
As for when we aren't feeling inspired, no problem. Life is about many things - maybe it's time for gardening or watching TV.
💯💯 you’re spot on as usual! I went through 1.5 years of being at 20% where it all went to maintaining my businesses and now that I came here I feel how it’s bringing me so much life. Tonight I was supposed to work on updating my hero post and other posts but got the inspiration for this post and just wrote it out…
It’s such a magical feeling to get those thrusts of energy, they get us through the down slow moments don’t they
Hope you’re doing well, so glad to see you here and hope the company creation is advancing as you hope 🥂
I feel like i am inspired by so much! I don't ever fear it will run out. the harder part for me is taming it into my newsletter. (will other people be inspired by this too?!) i mean, i recently wrote about third winter in new england, if that has anything to show for my unique sense of inspo!
Oh I love that Kristen!! That’s what makes you special 💓
For me it’s very hard to plan what to write in advance at least for these creative writing pieces, I can only write them “on a whim” because if I plan or structure too much I lose the flow and inspiration altogether…
With my main art business I’ve had to be more consistent and not only create what I “felt like”, and that’s been difficult in one way of course but it also made me resilient to the ebb and flow of inspiration I suppose…
Inspiration is a very interesting subject isn’t iy?!
… I believe that the practice of mindfulness and being present and fully aware of all that transpires with and in you and around you offers a treasure trove of inspiration that will fill your “ideas” notebook with more than you can imagine … if you breathe you are always bathed in inspiration for any art you endeavor in … I am an abstract painter and often the canvas directs what is to happen … I just have to show up …. and be open to what can be, patient, and listening and most importantly NOT focusing on what I think, want or plan on … I hope this can help …
I definitely resonate with this. I find the more I am embodied and immersed in the present moment is when the inspiration comes. It's like the universe is reminding me I am a human be-ing, not a human do-ing. Life itself and our "inner ocean of emotion" (as my teacher likes to describe it) is often the inspiration! Thank you for this reminder 🙏🏽
Same. I feel like the more inspiration/content I take in, the more suppressed my creative spirit gets as I become less of a creator and more of a consumer. It’s only when I limit my intake of others creation that my creative spirit starts bubbling up again…. The hard part is living in that zone and not doing the back and forth all the time. Consistently lessening my intake would guarantee a stability in my creative drive.
It’s a fine line to balance indeed! I try to always start with creating first and if I don’t feel it flowing I may pivot to “enjoyment” or doing something else. It’s when I start with consumption that the creation is doomed
You make a great point about it being an artist’s responsibility to create new ideas amidst the creativity drought. After all, that’s what creatives are good at. That’s their calling, right? It makes it even more humbling— and makes it sting a little bit more—when you find yourself with a case of writer’s block. And I also find that my greatest inspiration comes from simply living and having human experiences. Experience is the richest content mine there is. Very thoughtful piece; I appreciated reading it!
Thanks Alexandra I’m so glad it gave you value! Experience is a gold mine indeed and something one can always tap into (and which is unique to you so competition becomes non existent) xx
Earlier today I was worried about whether I had run out of ideas for my newsletter. In the early weeks of me starting it, I had up to 3 newsletters ready to go at any time.
As I started to get busier, it became a bit harder to find time to write. And I found myself having to write and edit my newsletters within a short amount of time.
Today was another one of those days and I was worried if I had another newsletter in me or if I’d run out of inspiration. I spent some time going through my “Newsletter Ideas” document but didn’t like any of them.
I brainstormed for a bit and then an idea that I kinda liked came to mind. I decided to go for it and once I started writing, the inspiration started to grow.
It’s a cheeky bastard that inspiration fella. Great piece!
Haha the cheeky bastard indeed 🤣 having run a newsletter for 6 years I know this storyline too well!
The funny thing is that even though I have an enormous bank of ideas to write up or drafts to finish I always end up writing new things and it just always tend to work out in one way or another even if it doesn’t feel like it at the get go
100000% agreed. The other day cycling back home after a long day I had this lightbulb moment and something made sense. Thankfully a red light and 1 min wait time gave me the opportunity to scribble down a few ideas.
When I will finally find time to write on the weekend, I may or may not remember what it was all about. And that’s okay. Letting creativity wash through us is so magical. When we get too attached, I think, it stagnates
100% !! I scribble ideas throughout the day everyday but only a fraction of it actually comes to fruition due to a ton of circumstances because the inspiration might not make sense at the time I got time to write.. like you say, one must not be too attached to the ideas but let them come and go 💓
Oh that’s SO hard for me to let go of if I come back to some scribbles and realize I don’t know what I was trying to say! Or the inspiration left me.
I think when that happens, I’ll—if I can—learn to REALLY run with it when it comes.
Y’all talking about this honestly makes me realize how often I’ve waited too long in the hopes of making a “perfect” outcome, so then I just don’t post at all. Wow!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! I agree with your take that inspiration frequents us more when we are we are present in our daily lives Magic truly is in the current moment, we miss out when we are too distracted to listen to its whispers.
You are right about inspiration. It seems as though when we look for it, it hides. When we unintentionally leave space for it, for example while driving, showering or failing to fall asleep, it comes knocking.
Always in the shower! I find that inspiration flows when I am doing my part of the creative equation: taking care of myself and showing up to write consistently. It's harder to hear those ideas speak if I am not in a place to listen well.
That’s a very good point about listening to it too! Personally that’s what I think of as also listening and following my gut… it’s hard to do if we aren’t in tune with ourselves and recognise the different “itches”
Yes. Thank you for the reminder. To listen well and to do my part of the creative equation by taking care of myself and showing up consistently.
When I'm making my bed! And then I have to write it down or I'll forget.
I appreciate this perspective. I definitely had to face this fear when committing to post once a week. Prior to Substack I was focused more on speaking and video work, etc. Previously writing was reserved for moments of inspiration for Facebook or Instagram or my journal. Sharing my journal with the world is a rather new thing. Like you, I’ve discovered the inspiration often comes when you’re least looking for it. The thing I love about writing is I now have an outlet for it! I have found the key is being present enough that when the inspiration comes to make sure I take notes!
Yes I also find it to vary depending on the medium! And writing gives me the freedom to act on the inspiration immediately, throw something together and send it out into the world. With my embroidery art there’s always the patience barrier which sometimes can be hard to overcome… sketching is also much quicker so since the kids came along I’m finding myself more drawn to quicker mode of expression (thought I’m still embroidering as part of my job ofc) so glad to have you here with me!
Yes, I feel this so much too. The more I push and try to force an idea to strike, my creative brain just shuts down. But when I'm not forcing it and just enjoying living life, I find myself almost overwhelmed with the ideas that come forth 🤎
Living life in the present moment is the greatest fuel for inspiration isn’t there 💓 I feel like since I took my back me sketch habit of a couple minutes quick sketch in the morning while my daughters play it has done wonders in centering me in the present again (the mind can easy fly away if we don’t tame it, at least for me 🫣) x
Absolutely loved this. I’ve found there is a direct correlation to how much time I spend on my phone and my lack of inspiration. The more mindless content I consume drains me of my own inspiration and creative flow. As soon as I clear my head, get off my phone and get outside, it comes back in so many ways. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely get inspiration from other people online (like this!) and learn so much but there’s a fine line of over consuming content and I tend to cross it haha
Oh yes I totally feel you! It's the same for me - when I'm too much on the phone I've got zero ideas left. I have a 5 minute timer to not scroll. It's why I stopped marketing on Instagram a couple of years gap actually because it sucked everything out of me even if I was supposed to "just use it for business". On here I mostly go to the new post feature and just write haha so far so good - do you have a system to be sure you get the writing you want done?
Ahh yes I get that, even when it's for work it still sucks a lot out of you. And I can easily get carried away scrolling haha. I should probably put some sort of system in place but I usually put my phone in another room once I start writing and that seems to help me get in a flow!
I was literally reading this and thinking about all of the good points it makes while also feeling kind of hopeless and uninspired about my own writing when boom! An idea came to me... and it must have been inspired by reading this. So thanks!
Wohoo mission accomplished 🙌🔥😍
Thankfully there are people like you that provide inspiration for others! I was so inspired by your architectural embroidery that I could not wait to start doing it. Traditional embroidery had so many rules and the subject matter did not always interest or inspire me. I love buildings and there you were showing how to take a single strand of floss and turn it into an architectural drawing on fabric!
Oh Deb this makes me heart sing!! Always so lovely to hear what caught the attention for my work and there’s really some magic in the simplicity (yet luxurious look) of the single stranded architectural pieces 💞
Inspiration, creativity, productivity, energy (whatever one will call it) is not a constant.
I have written enough content for 2 months within a week when I was inspired, only to go for 2 weeks without writing anything because I just didn't feel I had any ideas to share.
Sometimes we're operating at 170% and at other times it's hardly 20%. Inspiration is like happiness: no one has it all the time. There are peaks and troughs. The key is to seize the moment when it arrives.
As for when we aren't feeling inspired, no problem. Life is about many things - maybe it's time for gardening or watching TV.
💯💯 you’re spot on as usual! I went through 1.5 years of being at 20% where it all went to maintaining my businesses and now that I came here I feel how it’s bringing me so much life. Tonight I was supposed to work on updating my hero post and other posts but got the inspiration for this post and just wrote it out…
It’s such a magical feeling to get those thrusts of energy, they get us through the down slow moments don’t they
Hope you’re doing well, so glad to see you here and hope the company creation is advancing as you hope 🥂
They do, Elin.
Yeah, I'm good. Always good to comment on your ideas, you know you have many of them.
Satisfied with the progress about the LLC too, hoping to have everything ready by the time I get to 1K subs.
All good news, I’m happy for you 👏 1k is just around the corner 😉
I feel like i am inspired by so much! I don't ever fear it will run out. the harder part for me is taming it into my newsletter. (will other people be inspired by this too?!) i mean, i recently wrote about third winter in new england, if that has anything to show for my unique sense of inspo!
Oh I love that Kristen!! That’s what makes you special 💓
For me it’s very hard to plan what to write in advance at least for these creative writing pieces, I can only write them “on a whim” because if I plan or structure too much I lose the flow and inspiration altogether…
With my main art business I’ve had to be more consistent and not only create what I “felt like”, and that’s been difficult in one way of course but it also made me resilient to the ebb and flow of inspiration I suppose…
Inspiration is a very interesting subject isn’t iy?!
Ditto! “I feel like i am inspired by so much! I don't ever fear it will run out. the harder part for me is taming it into my newsletter.”
… I believe that the practice of mindfulness and being present and fully aware of all that transpires with and in you and around you offers a treasure trove of inspiration that will fill your “ideas” notebook with more than you can imagine … if you breathe you are always bathed in inspiration for any art you endeavor in … I am an abstract painter and often the canvas directs what is to happen … I just have to show up …. and be open to what can be, patient, and listening and most importantly NOT focusing on what I think, want or plan on … I hope this can help …
I definitely resonate with this. I find the more I am embodied and immersed in the present moment is when the inspiration comes. It's like the universe is reminding me I am a human be-ing, not a human do-ing. Life itself and our "inner ocean of emotion" (as my teacher likes to describe it) is often the inspiration! Thank you for this reminder 🙏🏽
Yes 🙏🏼 I love the human be-ING vs human do-ING distinction, so so good 💫
Same. I feel like the more inspiration/content I take in, the more suppressed my creative spirit gets as I become less of a creator and more of a consumer. It’s only when I limit my intake of others creation that my creative spirit starts bubbling up again…. The hard part is living in that zone and not doing the back and forth all the time. Consistently lessening my intake would guarantee a stability in my creative drive.
It’s a fine line to balance indeed! I try to always start with creating first and if I don’t feel it flowing I may pivot to “enjoyment” or doing something else. It’s when I start with consumption that the creation is doomed
Very very well said👏🏼
Needed this so much today! Thank you for sharing and staying true to your self. Much love, Marta Madlen
Aw thank you Marta! I’m delighted to have you - sending love back 💗
You make a great point about it being an artist’s responsibility to create new ideas amidst the creativity drought. After all, that’s what creatives are good at. That’s their calling, right? It makes it even more humbling— and makes it sting a little bit more—when you find yourself with a case of writer’s block. And I also find that my greatest inspiration comes from simply living and having human experiences. Experience is the richest content mine there is. Very thoughtful piece; I appreciated reading it!
Thanks Alexandra I’m so glad it gave you value! Experience is a gold mine indeed and something one can always tap into (and which is unique to you so competition becomes non existent) xx
Earlier today I was worried about whether I had run out of ideas for my newsletter. In the early weeks of me starting it, I had up to 3 newsletters ready to go at any time.
As I started to get busier, it became a bit harder to find time to write. And I found myself having to write and edit my newsletters within a short amount of time.
Today was another one of those days and I was worried if I had another newsletter in me or if I’d run out of inspiration. I spent some time going through my “Newsletter Ideas” document but didn’t like any of them.
I brainstormed for a bit and then an idea that I kinda liked came to mind. I decided to go for it and once I started writing, the inspiration started to grow.
It’s a cheeky bastard that inspiration fella. Great piece!
Haha the cheeky bastard indeed 🤣 having run a newsletter for 6 years I know this storyline too well!
The funny thing is that even though I have an enormous bank of ideas to write up or drafts to finish I always end up writing new things and it just always tend to work out in one way or another even if it doesn’t feel like it at the get go
Exactly! It’s good to know that we’re all living the same life as writers.
100000% agreed. The other day cycling back home after a long day I had this lightbulb moment and something made sense. Thankfully a red light and 1 min wait time gave me the opportunity to scribble down a few ideas.
When I will finally find time to write on the weekend, I may or may not remember what it was all about. And that’s okay. Letting creativity wash through us is so magical. When we get too attached, I think, it stagnates
100% !! I scribble ideas throughout the day everyday but only a fraction of it actually comes to fruition due to a ton of circumstances because the inspiration might not make sense at the time I got time to write.. like you say, one must not be too attached to the ideas but let them come and go 💓
Oh that’s SO hard for me to let go of if I come back to some scribbles and realize I don’t know what I was trying to say! Or the inspiration left me.
I think when that happens, I’ll—if I can—learn to REALLY run with it when it comes.
Y’all talking about this honestly makes me realize how often I’ve waited too long in the hopes of making a “perfect” outcome, so then I just don’t post at all. Wow!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! I agree with your take that inspiration frequents us more when we are we are present in our daily lives Magic truly is in the current moment, we miss out when we are too distracted to listen to its whispers.
You are right about inspiration. It seems as though when we look for it, it hides. When we unintentionally leave space for it, for example while driving, showering or failing to fall asleep, it comes knocking.
Thank you for sharing! Feeling inspired:)
Woho mission accomplished! I’m so glad this could spark some inspiration - it’s an energy that gets amplified when shared 💞