What To Do When In Need Of Inspiration? | Five Things

Have you ever felt ‘blank’? Like, you wanted to create something but didn’t know how and with what? That’s okay because, believe me, everyone has felt like that. You are in need of inspiration. The feeling of being inspired feels very empowering. It feels like you want and can create everything that comes to mind. To get this feeling, I have listed five things that help me to find inspiration (or let it find me) whenever I need it!

∿ Browsing online

One of the biggest inspiration sources for me are currently definitely Pinterest and Instagram. This first started with Tumblr, then I started using WeHeartIt (who remembers this?) and now Pinterest. If I could, I would be pinning stuff all day long. From photography inspiration to travel spots and outfit ideas. To stay organized I’ve created different boards with different subjects, so when I need a certain type of inspiration, I just look through these boards or start looking for pins I love. When it comes to Instagram, I’ve been really loving the ‘save’ feature. At first I didn’t use this at all. But now I have created different folders. When I see a photo I like, I simply save it. I loooove to do this for traveling, because I can make a folder per city and then I have a section of hotspots I could visit.

∿ Listening

Not many people think this could be inspiring, but I think it can be. Recently I discovered short TED talks on Spotify. The speakers discuss so many different subjects and some of them are funny and others discuss very serious things. So, sometimes a TED talk can be really inspirational because it might get me thinking and will form the main subject of a blog post. If you’re not really into TED talks and more into being social? Well, talking to someone can also inspire you and trigger something in your mind to try a specific thing or learn about something.

∿ Going offline

Luckily inspiration isn’t only found online. Going ‘offline’ once in a while is sooo needed because you can get inspiration from almost everything. I might be looking through a magazine and read or see something that I like. Or reading a book which reminds me of something I can write about. Or taking a shower. Am I the only one that gets such good ideas while in the shower? The only downside to this is that you can’t write it down somewhere. All in all, just go offline. Do things. And inspiration will find you.

∿ Go into nature

While relaxing, your brain calms down. When being more relaxed, you might find inspiration in the most random things. Going on a walk in nature, breathing in fresh air can be a great remedy when you’re feeling uninspired. This will clear your mind and will allow to create room for new ideas to develop. I feel when walking around nature really does this. But don’t forget to put your phone away, unless you see a photo opportunity of course. Maybe just put your phone on airplane mood so you don’t keep getting notifications. Just you and nature. If possible, sit down somewhere and just look around. Looking at people in their natural habit is super fun and can be inspiring as well.

∿ Traveling

If there’s one thing that always does the job for me, it has to be traveling. Oh my. Exploring a new city, getting to know a new culture and just wandering around. A new city has so much to offer and can inspire you in so many ways. When I first went to New York I got very interested in studying in New York because I kept seeing students everywhere. Because of them, I started researching studying abroad. Even though I didn’t end up doing this, it did inspire me in that moment. Every time I went back to New York, a different thing inspired me because this city has so much to offer and to explore. But it’s not only for big cities like New York. Even a smaller city near where you live can be fun to discover and inspire you in some way.

Don’t forget…

• Write down things that come to mind, they might inspire you later when reading them again.
• Don’t be a perfectionist, try/start working on new things and see what it brings you.
• When you are intentionally looking for inspiration, you most definitely won’t find it. So, take your time and try one of these things to see if you get inspired and can use this inspiration for a blog post, a podcast, photography or even a school report.

So, this concludes the things I like to do to find inspiration, mainly for my blog and photography! Some days I try very hard to find inspiration on what to write about and I just don’t know. That’s okay! I leave my to do list on the side and try one of the five things listed, not constantly keeping my blog in mind. This will most likely work best when you don’t know. But keeping a list with random things that pop into your mind is also such a great thing! I have a large list of random things and sometimes I like to browse through it and see if I can do something with that note. NOTE TO EVERYONE: inspiration is everywhere. Just be open to it and it will find you. Trust me. Have you ever been in need of inspiration? What’s your ultimate tip to find inspiration (or let it find you)?

Love,

Neeltje