Where did you go, inspiration?

Have you lost you creative inspiration? Everything feels boring or hard? Don't panic, read on!

I want to tell you a story.

Inspiration and I were out and about, skipping and singing, life was a blast, my head was in the clouds. Some hippety hops and suddenly the world changed. I looked around - grey grey grey - and inspiration was gone. Poof.

Everything turned into meh and maybe tomorrow and why was this fun?

I had lost my inspiration and I felt lost with it, all alone. I was a hopeless soul drifting by, no direction, I was cloaked in shrugs and sighs.

With a project in my lap and no inspiration, what was I to do? Give up?
Oh could I? Maybe I should? Yes? Yeees? No.

No no. I went to search for it instead.

I looked on the internet.

It gave me kittens falling off counters and sunsets with grand words.
It showed me blog posts telling me to TAKE ACTION and how to make pie.
It hurled yoga butts and stupid politicians at me.

But no inspiration. It wasn't on the internet.

I looked in my book shelf. 

There were adventures about golden rings and lightning shaped scars.
There were hikes in mountains and travels all over the world.
There were streetcats and big magic.

But no inspiration. It wasn't in my bookshelf.

I looked at my project.

I saw outlines and plans.
I saw ideas and drafts.
I saw something I had wanted to make.

But no inspiration. It wasn't in my project.

I despaired and cried and considered giving up again.

But then I looked inside my heart.

I found a disappointment with the direction my project was taking.
I found a need for rest and recovery and just a little break.
I found a longing to throw away some stuff and change my path.

Most importantly, I found that little spark. The one that had made me jump and skip and sing, the one that made me start this project in the first place.

It was buried under demands from the world, under comparisons and shoulds, under best practices and opinions. 

I lifted it up, dusted it off and let it loose.
Then my project and I skipped happily after it, on the right track again.

If you've lost your inspiration, ask yourself what you've lost.

What was it you loved, what drove you forward? What in it did you lose along the way? Freedom? Your own voice? Playfulness?

When inspiration runs away, it's often because what we once loved got buried underneath something else, usually more demanding than fun.

They say inspiration is overrated, that we should just keep going, and I agree that we can't always be at an all time high. Hard work is a big part of making creative projects come true, but if it no longer brightens your heart, then something is wrong.

Ask yourself why you're doing this. There was a reason you started it, what was it? Is that reason still valid? Was reality different than you imagined? Or did things change from what you wanted, from who you are? 

Some projects are never meant to be. Others are, but you have to stay to your own version of it and not let the world's opinions derail your vision. Don't search for it in everyone else, search for it in yourself. If you start there, you'll find an inspiration that won't flake as easily.

Inspiration will find you when you search for joy and your own voice. Then it will tap you on the shoulder and flick your nose, mischievous and ready for adventure.