by Noleen Wyatt-Jones

Created on: April 20, 2009

The most common problem faced by anyone who is trying to create something whether it be a book, painting, sculpture or marketing plan, is losing that vital creative inspiration, and more importantly how to get that inspiration back. Inspiration is the life blood that courses through our bodies spurring us on to create and satisfy that need. In part, creativity is about fresh perspective and sometimes the only way to find that fresh perspective is to get away from the blank page and to recharge the batteries. Take yourself out of your comfort zone and do something different and you may be pleasantly surprised at the positive results gained.

We can all take inspiration from everything around us, and one valuable tip is to always carry around a notebook in order to jot down an image, a word, a sentence, a name, a voice, a feeling - whatever inspiration strikes at the time. The most important thing is to get into the habit of recording these flashes of inspiration before you forget them, and they are lost forever. You may not use your musings immediately, or you may find that they send you off in a different direction, either way you are beginning to build and use the results of your creative inspiration as well as creating a bank of ideas to come back to in the future.

If the scientists are to be believed and it is the right side of our brain that is responsible for our creativity then all we need to do is to ensure that we stimulate that side of our brain with other creative offerings - read a book, visit an art gallery, admire some beautiful photographs, smell the flowers. Sometimes we go round and round in circles and fail to see the brilliant idea in front of us so maybe, just maybe, if we take the time to look at that same thing through different eyes then we may just see its potential in a new and different way.

As the writer Maya Angelou so aptly put it 'You cannot use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.' So ultimately we owe it to ourselves to work on our creative inspiration, to keep it flowing and producing new material. We are only ever hampered by our own frustrations and if we can find ways to push aside the barriers then we will be able to more fully realise our creative potential. There is inspiration all around us and all we have to do is find the time and means to unlock it. Sounds simple but we are all aware it isn't but the effort will be worth it in the long run.

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