Since graduating from college and becoming a mother, my priorities, energy, and brain has drastically shifted from formatting academic papers and citing articles to giving bubble baths and changing diapers. It’s thrilling to change my focus and challenge my skill sets, but I like to stay fresh and current with my writing and creative projects. I’m happy to know that I’m not alone. Many fellow mothers, writers, entrepreneurs, and creative explorers are constantly seeking ways to learn, grow, create, and improve. This led me to wonder how others find inspiration to get their creative juices flowing. What is your secret? Yoga every morning? Doodling in a notebook with Netflix in the background? A shot of whiskey and a chocolate truffle?
As for me, I have found inspiration through several outlets, and I know every person is capable of sparking creativity through these exercises:
HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH STRANGERS. Some of my most memorable lightbulb moments came from having random conversations with people I did not know– at the book store, on an airplane, and even online through a fellow blogger. So many people walk around with interesting, engaging stories, waiting for a kind person to engage in conversation with them and move them away from their sunglasses, lattes, and cell phones. I have also noticed that a random person imparting a simple pearl of wisdom upon me seems to stick in my brain so much more than when my mother says it (Sorry, Mom.). Even if you never see these people again, they can touch your life and inspire you to do something great.
READ A CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK. Other sources will tell you to read articles and read books, but sometimes busy people don’t have as much time as they would like to read everything they want to read. So I extend a simpler challenge: read a children’s picture book. It can be a picture book that you haven’t read since you were a child, such as The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, or a new one that is sitting on the promotion table of the book store, like Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, by Mac Barnett. Why read a children’s picture book? Sure, I’m a children’s librarian and love them. But children’s picture books can be short reads that take eight minutes out of your day. Their illustrations can make your inner child smile. They are brimming with humor and existential life lessons about friendship, love, family, nature, death, and other challenges and beauties of life. There are TONS of children’s picture books out there that can really brighten your day and make you feel motivated to start something new.
ATTEND A WORKSHOP. Look up local workshops in your area of interest, from a floristry design class at your local flower shop to a one-day business class at your local adult school. There are also countless webinars, videos, and podcasts that can make you feel like a student again. Best of all, you don’t take home a report card with a grade! However, you might be able to score a completion certificate that will look stellar on your résumé.
GO FOR A WALK. Sometimes a little fresh air and a date with Mother Nature helps you reset your brain, gain some endorphins, and forget your stresses. It opens you up and unwinds your tight spots and anxious energy. It gives you a break to think about random things.
RIDE A BUS. Riding a bus or other form of public transportation with no specific destination allows you to people-watch. It’s amazing how much insight you can get by observing behaviors and relationships. You see sights that you’ve never noticed before. You notice what people carry with them, what they do when they ride alone, and where their eyes wander as they travel home or wherever they are going.
VISIT A MUSEUM. Museums are not only contemplative environments where you can learn something new, but they also tend to feature a special exhibit that highlights a time period, artist, or genre that can birth epiphanies. In addition, being close to an artifact or work of art can ignite feelings you would not have if you saw the same piece in a book or on the Internet.
ATTEND A CITY MEETING, TOWN MEETING, OR OTHER OPEN BOARD MEETING. Sometimes we see new additions to our city, like a statue or a line of trees, and we don’t know the story behind it Or sometimes we wonder why no one is fixing the ten potholes on one street, unaware that it has been an agenda item for several years with no progress. Attending a city meeting, town meeting, or other open board meeting, such as for a school district or water district, can be eye-opening and educating. This can motivate you to research improvements, write articles, create a political piece of artwork, meet and interview prominent stakeholders, or brainstorm for a documentary. It is always interesting to find out about local issues and hot topics, like cutting public library hours or adding a strip mall with dollar stores and cash advance centers to fit a lower income demographic.
MAKE A VISION BOARD. An afternoon of scrapbooking and magazine clipping can be easy, fun, and inspiring. Putting motivational quotes, life goals, and dream destinations on a board can help you to remember a passion that you put on the back burner and are willing to revisit with more gusto. Take these ideas and run with them.
RESEARCH A RANDOM PLACE. When one of my favorite podcast hosts and successful entrepreneurs, Jess Lively, announced that she would be moving to Ann Arbor, MI, I felt an urge to look up Ann Arbor to see what it offered a thriving businesswoman like her, and if it was the kind of environment I needed to attain similar victories. Especially since I adore her style, intelligence, and ambition, I knew that she probably wouldn’t move someplace where her creative energies would go to die. So I Googled “Ann Arbor” to learn more about the town, which made me smile. Ann Arbor is full of young energy with unique shops and restaurants and an ideal cost of living. By learning about a new place, my brain nearly exploded! I suddenly felt inspired to look up different quaint towns in the United States that I had never visited, peruse flights, browse potential jobs and places to live, and dream about a new and exciting adventure in another place. For you, it could be the historic architecture and luxurious gardens that inspires you. It could be the hiking trails or the history. This exercise can really surprise you and make you want to hop in your car and disappear for a few days, giving you the gift of incomparable exhilaration, wild stories, and life lessons that push you to pursue your passions with either a fresh perspective or a renewed energy.
What are some ways you spark creativity in your life? Etsy? Pinterest? The local open mic night? Please share your ideas in the comments! I would love to hear from you and I know others would too!
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