#creative-inspiration

[alexsmithson]

The best thing that I loved about the sunny winter day in London was the comforting glow of the sunlight as it shone down on the buildings around me! #Winter #Glow #SunnyDay #Photography #London

A Glowing Sunny Winter Day In London!

[writingcooperative]

How to break through the fear of judgement and confidently call yourself a writer Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »

Written by Alexander J. Porter

[creativesomething]

Favorite TED stories on creativity

Creativity can be a viral thing. It's when you start to feel a little buzzing in your head after hearing the story of someone's creative success. When you hear a new song or see a new work of art or when you're in the room the moment someone encounters something truly creative. Simply encountering one story of creativity can spark a motivation in you, a result of our human desire to better our abilities. Today let the creativity story others have to tell inspire you. Starting with this video from Elizabeth Gilbert on Your Elusive Creative Genius. Then follow it up with some of my other favorite TED talks on creativity: Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity, The Fringe Benefits of Failure by J.K. Rowling, David Kelley on How to Build Your Creative Confidence, 4 Lessons in Creativity by Julie Berstein, and Do What You Love by Gary Vaynerchuk.

[creativesomething]

Finding creativity in everyday life.

Speeding cars. Pointless meetings. Ignorant tech support. Late nights clashing with early mornings.

Not the life much of us envisioned we would live when we were younger, right? Yet, here we are, and, no matter how many cups of coffee you have in the morning, the world is rapidly becoming more and more overwhelming.

So, between the projects building up at work or school, the addicting television programs, the problems with family or friends, and everything else that seems to pile up day after day, how can anyone find any creative inspiration, let alone creative motivation?

You can find creativity in your busy life simply by letting it all go for a while. Not worrying about things going on in your life, and taking just a few minutes to relax can fuel your creativity to unfounded levels.

Because we live in such a complicated, fast-paced world, creativity is often hindered by the time constraints of others, as well as our own. So is it really any surprise that the best way to find creative inspiration and motivation in everyday life is to let everything go for a bit, just getting away from all of the "noise" around us?

It shouldn't come as a big surprise. If you haven't noticed already, the best creative inspirations strike when they are least expected. For example, when you cram to finish a project of any type, the resulting product will almost always be less than what you expected it to be. But when you have a project that has no real time restraints, you'll discover that inspiration will often strike and what you come up with will be much better than you could have ever imagined.

Creativity works best when it is not sought after. The best way to be inspired, or get motivated, is to let creativity flow to you naturally. And the best way to let creativity come to you naturally is to take a break and just let things go for a bit.

To let things go, you need to stop whatever it is you are doing, find a nice, quiet place where you won't be bothered, turn off your cellphone, sit down, and stop thinking about everything that has been on your mind, just for five minutes. Five minutes without thinking about your job, without thinking about school, not worrying about family or friends. Take five minutes and just relax.

I have found from experience that restrooms are the best place to get away from the "noise" of everyday life. You won't be bothered, and if your boss - or anyone else - begins to wonder where you've gone to, you can just feed them the "I wasn't feeling well" line. Of course, the smell might distract you from relaxing, but it's better than being distracted by everything else. Trust me on this one.

So head off to the nearest restroom and do your best to relax. Creative inspiration may not hit you immediately, but if you take just five minutes out of everyday to relax and let your mind wander aimlessly, you'll find that creative inspiration won't just hit you eventually, you'll naturally begin to find ways to fuel your creativity without taking a break from everyday life.

Not only can you easily find creativity by getting away from routine daily thoughts, when you look at the grand scheme of things, 5 minutes out of everyday isn't that much time. If you take five minutes out of everyday for the next year just to relax and let your mind wander in search of creativity, you'll still have 524,123 minutes left of the year to worry about everything else in your life.

So quit reading blogs online, and go get creative; but before you do, don't forget to subscribe to Creative Something to get more creative articles like this one, for free.