Making time for inspiration

Trying to deconstruct the nature of inspiration and why it's so important to me

Illustration by Manshen Lo

The topic of inspiration started taking up more space in my mind when I realized just how crucial it was to me, in my life, to be inspired by whatever I’m doing. You might think “ok, duh” - but it had never been so simple to me. You might like what you’re doing but not necessarily be inspired by it. When I Google the definition of inspiration, it says “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative”. The part that interests me the most is that moment of mental stimulation.

One of my favorite feelings to experience is stumbling upon something that gives me that split second of mental stimulation upon seeing/conceiving it for the first time; whether it’s a photo, a book, a concept, an aesthetic, anything. A feeling that I love even more, is being able to engage in that inspiring content and pursue it: to have the time to do that, and to have the energy and the flexibility to engage further with it.

I realized how important this was to me when I started increasingly noticing the decrease in my mood when I felt inspired by something (eg. a specific book that I really felt a strong urge to sit and read for hours) but I didn’t have the time to do that in that moment; and then, if I was unlucky, when I got the time, that mental stimulation and exciting urge might have been lost.

I haven’t seen anyone else talk about this specific topic, but to me, being able to pursue my inspiration in its peak moment became almost a vital need, something I had to make space for in my life, to ensure I don’t lose it. As any curious person might relate to, it’s a wonderful feeling to stumble upon a topic that you feel urged to dive deeply into, like finding a treasure box. This is one of the simple things in life that, if you find it often enough, introduces a sense of wonder and stimulation that is difficult to find elsewhere. I started thinking and worrying about the potential of ever being stuck in an everyday routine where I spend all of my productive hours working, engaging in activities that don’t necessarily inspire me, or tackling other necessary life tasks that pop up a bit too often. Imagining such a reality made me more determined to try to structure my life in my own way, and to unlearn a lot of things about what that should look like. It even made me question my idea of success, which eventually shifted towards being in a place where I can be working on things I like, with enough freedom and flexibility to explore the world (both physically and mentally) when I feel like it, without feeling restrained or held back by anything (financially, time-wise, or in any other sense). I could probably phrase that more accurately, but now I see it as something along those lines.

Following my inspiration -at times impulsively- has also helped me in my work; without that moment of action, I wouldn’t have created a lot of the projects and initiatives that led to my company’s development and growth. When I saw a project, a design style, an initiative, or anything, that gave me an idea for my business, I simply implemented it, in that moment, without overthinking it. That became kind of a life hack: when someone asked me “how are you so motivated?”, I realized that I wasn’t really being driven by any intrinsic motivation, but rather by consciously putting myself in situations that would inspire me. Here’s how I do that:

• Making sure that every week, I have free time to devote to reading, learning, and exploring new ideas with no agenda - just where my curiosity takes me. If I don’t feel like it, no problem, but if I do, I need to have the time for it.

• Taking breaks. My brain needs to rest and procrastinate for a bit in order to not burn out, so I definitely try not to be at 100% capacity every day of the week. I try to schedule all my meetings during three days per week (usually the most exhausting ones), and leave the rest of the days for more intuitive planning.

• Surrounding myself with inspiring people and content: if I absentmindedly watch a YouTube video in the background, I try to make it one that is likely to give me some interesting thoughts and insights; might as well consume content that will inspire instead of drain me, even if it’s not my full focus.

• Writing regularly. I write in my journal almost every day, even when I have “no thoughts” (which means, nothing I can recognize as “being on my mind” that day). Once you start writing, thoughts always arise, and it’s one of the best ways to see where your own subconscious mind will take you.

This basically became my list of ways to keep myself motivated. Many people expect drive to come to them out of nowhere; I realized that’s not going to happen for me, unless I put myself in situations that have been proven to inspire and motivate me.

However, being a person that wants to follow every inspiring turn has some challenges. My biggest one is that I feel ✨inspired✨ by too many different subjects and career options, and have equally considered many of them - even now I seem to have a blind faith that at some point in my life I’ll be a National Geographic photographer or a full-time writer (would I even enjoy that? I don’t know but that blind faith always said yes). If you find yourself in a similar situation, the best advice I’ve seen on the topic came from Derek Sivers. On his famous “Don’t Be a Donkey” blog post, he said:

“Are you trying to pursue many different directions at once?

Are you frustrated that the world wants you to pick one thing, because you want to do them all?

The problem is thinking short term — assuming that if you don’t do all the things now, they won’t happen.

The solution is to think long term. Do just one thing for a few years, then another for a few years, then another.”

I highly recommend reading the rest of the post too!

I’ve now concluded that there is enough time to follow all the places your inspiration and curiosity will take you, as long as you prioritize that in your everyday life.

Making a conscious effort to prioritize your passions and where they lead will create a unique sense of fulfilment, that to me, is one of the best things to invest time in.

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