Stop searching for inspiration and let inspiration find you! (video)

Controversial, I know. We often think that inspiration is something we achieve, attain and hold onto but reality can be the opposite, like trying hold smoke in our hands, the more we grasp, the less we have.

Making Space for the New

As a coach, I work with people who are looking to make their lives more meaningful, undertake activities that make their hearts sing and reconnect with their passions and dreams. Quite often, as the coaching magic does it work, there is a realisation that something has to be let go of in order for something new to sprout and grow.

My own journey with making art has really anchored the need for making space for the new and letting go of the old. In the video, I use a cup to illustrate this in that you can't fill a cup that's already full. If you're looking for the new to come into your life and take up space within it, you'll probably need to let go of something old, something that doesn't help you anymore, something that you don't use or need anymore. For myself, I hold on to these unhelpful patterns and beliefs for many reasons, sometimes it's just an old habit, ready to be dropped and sometimes I need help to work through and release.

Whenever I've felt stuck, uninspired to move forward with a project or artwork, I now understand there is probably a block. Something I need to work through and let go of. It can be something complex like my beliefs about what art is, which may take many conscious efforts to unpick and unravel and let go of bit by bit. Or perhaps a fear of failing or making mistakes.

The best remedy I've discovered when I'm stuck and not feeling inspired is to just START!

The act of having a go changes something within.

The Power of Making a Mark

Pick up a paint brush, charcoal, sketchpad, pencils, chalk, draw in the sand. Just make a start with something or make a mark on something you're already working on that feels blocked. The act of having a go, even if you're not feeling it, even if there are 100 other jobs to do, even if you don't have the best materials and all the other reasons for not starting, changes something within. Suddenly the internal narrative flips from I can't to I CAN because you're doing it. You demonstrate to yourself that you can, right there. And this simple but powerful shift can open the door to new possibilities and potentials.

It won't fix all the issues around letting go, being inspired and living a life that feeds the soul but it has been a really useful tool I've used when the 'I can' in my self talk is nowhere to be found.

Enjoy the video and full transcript below. (All Insightful Artist videos are unscripted and unrehearsed)

Full Transcript

Hi, I’m Janet from Creative Expressions. Today I want to talk to you about inspiration.

I want you to stop looking for inspiration… Sounds controversial, I know, why would we stop looking for inspiration? But I see a lot of people, when they get really stuck, they go looking for inspiration and I think sometimes we need to let inspiration find us.

I’ve go my glass here and I’d like to use today as a bit of a prop to look at the old phrase, “you can’t fill a cup that’s already full’. And I think this happens with inspiration sometimes. The inspiration can’t get in because the cup is already full but not necessarily full with inspiration so sometimes we need to make some space in the cup to let the inspiration come in.

Now, I know from my own personal experience some of the things I’ve had to let go of in the past have been blocks around;

• What I perceive art to be
• What I think it should look like
• Trying something new
• Giving a new medium a go

Letting go of some of these things have made space in my cup for other things to come through, and they do but it can be a little uncomfortable and it can be a little bit scary even, trying something new and giving something else a go.

You can give yourself a challenge. Some of these challenges you can do with friends – you know, do a month of abstract oceans or something like that can be really helpful because it challenges us and makes us accountable to try something new to give something a go. Every time we do try something new and give something a go, whether it was a success or not, we have managed to let a little bit of something go usually, and then that makes space in our cup so that inspiration can find us more easily. We don’t need to go looking for it quite as much. So that’s all I’ve got today in our 3 minute insights. We’re way under that. If you’ve found this helpful, please like and subscribe and I’ll see you next time.