Weekly Inspiration: Creativity

The other day I was reading an article in the July/August 2016 issue of Spirituality & Health magazine about getting unstuck during a creative block. The author speaks of writers block, but the ideas in the article can be applied to any creative process. She discusses how she set up for herself the perfect weekend getaway to work on the book she was writing. However, when she got there for the first weekend she didn't want to write at all; she avoided her computer all weekend. After a few weeks of this she was scared she had fallen into a serious bout writers block. Until, however, she redefined for herself what exactly writing was. She realized that doing all the other things, taking her dog for a walk, taking a nap, enjoying some much needed relaxation, were all inspiring her. While she was relaxing her brain was still working through the ideas for her book. Once she realized this it was easy to start writing in between these other activities. 

I love the idea that everything we do is inspiration for our creative process. I am constantly falling victim to feeling like I am not working hard enough. Maybe I didn't write that draft for my blog that I was planning to write, or I didn't do my physical yoga practice that I wanted to do. Instead of getting down on myself I need to remember everything else I am doing that is inspiring my blogging or yoga. No, I didn't write that draft for my blog, but I did work through a good portion of a book I want to write a review on later. No, I didn't do a physical yoga practice, but I went outside for a longer walking meditation. 

We need to stop beating ourselves up if we don't do the one thing that society has narrowly defined as "blogging" or "yoga". We are constantly taking in inspiration from the world around us that we can use for our projects. So, the next time we don't sit down and write or get on our mats, let's not get upset with ourselves. Let's think about what other activities we have done that day to inspire our creative process. 

What do you do to keep yourself inspired in your work?

The article mentioned above is "Get Unstuck" by Rosamund Stone Zander in the July/August 2016 issue of Spirituality & Health.

P.S. the tea of the day is citrus green tea ^_^