on actively pursuing inspiration

So I’ve been really into the idea of actively pursuing inspiration lately (in part thanks to Brooke Shaden’s talk about inspiration on Creative Live), as opposed to just waiting for it to “strike”. 

(Here's a photo I took in a very inspiring place - Ostia Antica in Italy)

I sometimes struggle with the feeling of not being a very creative person, but the more I look at old art journals the more I feel like this is just something I allow to be squelched more often than not.

Which is a problem and is lazy of me. So of course the first step in my solution is to make a list. :) I was actually a little surprised at the outcome. 

Here’s a typed version of The Inspired/Uninspired List:

What are the things that are inspiring to you?

-Narnia

-Til We Have Faces

-impressionism (ideology + paintings)

-music

-film

-art supplies

-being outside

-new places

-radio/podcasts (storytelling)

-journals/pretty books

-long grass

-fonts (I’m writing this in Adobe Garamond :) )

-colors

-mornings

What are the things that are uninspiring/kill inspiration for you?

-the internet

-stress

The thing that was surprising to me is that I could have gone on with the “things that inspires you” list. Some on the stuff on there is really obvious/common and some are pretty random, but it’s all stuff that has been a pretty reliable source of inspiration in the past. I could not, however, have gone on with the Uninspired List; two things, that’s pretty much it. Sadly I spend a disproportionate amount of time hanging out in my Uninspired List as opposed to my Inspired List. sigh.

So all this brings me to the What are you going to do about it? part. Some of this is really obvious (spend less time on the internet) and I’ve got some plans to start spending more time doing stuff that inspires me. Something I’ve been meaning to do for about 3 years, for example, is taking a hike in a pretty place at least once a week and visiting a new-to-me park in the Maryland area once a month. Lots of benefits come with this one, including being around several things on my Inspired List (!), spending nice family time with my husband and dog, exercise (stress relief!), and location scouting for photo shoots. Kinda awesome.

Lightbulbs are turning on, you know? It seems a little silly and obvious but now I’m looking at my daily life with a clearer head and a better perspective, all thanks to the power in Writing Stuff Down.

I'd love to hear what some of the stuff on your Inspired/Uninspired lists are, and/or what you do to stay inspired.