Chances are, if you're reading this, you're probably familiar with the term "creativity block." There really is nothing more frustrating to me than when I've just completely lost all of the creative juice in my brain. For all of us designers, writers, lyricists, producers, artists and so forth, creativity is all we know and we rely on that to push out new works, blogs, songs and designs. But what happens when you do hit that daunting reality that you "just don't have anything left" inside of you?
First of all, don't worry, because you're not going to just lose your beautiful gift. Creativity never dies, and it's never going get up one day and decide to leave you. However, if you're feeling like the tank is empty and you're feeling uninspired, all you need to do is feed your brain!
I don't have an actual number or scientific data that supports the theory of how much information we take in on a daily basis, but chances are if you're feeling "creatively drained," you're caught in the monotonous cycle of daily life. It makes sense though, we are such creatures of habit that we get into routines without even knowing it. If you're going through your life day-to-day doing the same exact things, from grabbing coffee from the same shop, to taking the same roads to work, to watching your favorite show at a certain time, you're basically setting yourself up for a life of comfort and complete creativity failure. It's easy to do the same things over and over again and become immune to our surroundings. Nothing good happens from staying inside the lines from a consistent perception.
My fool-proof answer to this? Traveling. I really can't stress the importance of getting out of your routine and pushing yourself to be in unfamiliar scenarios. When I say travel, I don't mean you need to book a flight to Europe, eat pasta in Italy and fall in love with a total stranger. Although that sounds great and you should probably visit Europe anyways, that's not what I'm talking about. Just travel! Where do you live? Are you in a city? How far away do you need to get to be on the outskirts of town? If you live in the middle of nowhere, where's the nearest metropolitan hub that's booming with life? You've got to challenge yourself to do something new and exciting. That really is the only answer I've found in the past 24 years of my life that works for me. I know I'll hear the "traveling is expensive" excuse. This is false. There is no price you can ever put on feeding your soul! Also, traveling also does not mean you need to take a 10k vacation. Traveling is more than just eating macaroons and drinking margaritas. Traveling is your brain food, but how do you consume it?
If you don't want to miss anything, you've got to remain open and unbiased. You pretty much want to intentionally get lost and you'll have to be mindful enough to know that whatever you encounter is meant to trigger you. What does the wind smell like right when you wake up? What do you feel when the wind hits your skin? What song plays through your mind when you close your eyes? How is it similar to where you're from and, more importantly, how is it different? Feed yourself the air, feed yourself the sun, feed yourself the moonlight. Feed yourself the skyscrapers, feed yourself a history book and feed yourself new cuisine.
As your perspective changes from taking in new visual and auditory sensations, you will be liberated from that mundane, boring, monotonous mindset. A weekend getaway is enough to last me around two months of really strong creative juice–after that, I'm itching and fighting my wanderlust and bank account all over again. Oh well, it could be worse. I could be an accountant and working a corporate 9-5 job (no offense, left brainers–numbers drain my energy).
What inspires you? I'd love to hear about it!
