ינהאַלט
It doesn’t matter if you are an amateur or a professional, whether you paint for sale or just make something for yourself, without inspiration it is difficult to do what you love. How to create a feeling of “flow” and awaken dormant potential when the desire to do something is at zero? Here are some tips from creative people.
What does it take to get inspired? We often need someone (or something) to guide us on the path of self-expression. It could be a person you admire or are in love with, a gripping book, or a scenic landscape. In addition, inspiration stimulates activity and is therefore valuable.
Texas Commerce University psychologists Daniel Chadbourne and Steven Reisen found that we are inspired by the experiences of successful people. At the same time, we should feel similar to this person (in terms of age, appearance, general facts of the biography, profession), but his status should far exceed ours. For example, if we dream of learning how to cook, a housewife who became the host of a cooking show will inspire more than a neighbor who works as a cook in a restaurant.
And where do the celebrities themselves draw inspiration from, because many of them do not recognize authorities? Representatives of creative professions share know-how.
Marc-Anthony Turnage, composer
1. Turn off the TV. Shostakovich could not write music with the «box» turned on.
2. Let light into the room. It is impossible to work indoors without windows.
3. Try to get up every day at the same time. When I wrote the last opera, I got up at 5-6 in the morning. The day is the worst time for creativity.
Isaac Julian, artist
1. Be a «magpie»: hunt for the brilliant and unusual. I try to be attentive: I watch people on the streets, their gestures and clothes, watch movies, read, remember what I discussed with friends. Capture images and ideas.
2. Change the environment. A great option is to leave the city for the countryside and meditate, or, conversely, after living in nature, plunge into the rhythm of the metropolis.
3. Communicate with people who are far from your area of interest. For example, while working on a recent project, I became friends with digital specialists.
Kate Royal, opera singer
1. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Allow yourself to take risks, do things that scare you. People may remember the color of your dress, but no one will remember if you forgot or misquoted the words.
2. Don’t focus on your mission. I have always believed that I should dedicate every second of my life to music. But in fact, when I take a break from the opera and try to enjoy the joys of life, I am more satisfied with the performances.
3. Do not think that inspiration will visit you in someone’s presence. It usually comes when you are alone.
Rupert Gould, director
1. Make sure the question you are interested in resonates with the world and what you have inside. This is the only way to continue working if you are in doubt.
2. Set an alarm for an earlier time than what you are used to waking up. Light sleep has become the source of my best ideas.
3. Check ideas for uniqueness. If no one thought of it before, with a probability of 99% we can say that it was not worth it. But for the sake of this 1% we are engaged in creativity.
Polly Stanham, playwright
1. Listen to music, it helps me personally.
2. Draw. I am fussy and work better when my hands are full. During rehearsals, I often sketch out various symbols associated with the play, and then they revive the dialogues in my memory.
3. Walk. Every day I start with a walk in the park, and sometimes I look there in the middle of the day to reflect on the character or situation. At the same time, I almost always listen to music: while one part of the brain is busy, the other can devote itself to creativity.