On Inspiration: Force It (Quote-ivation)

There are times when you have to take it easy and pace yourself, and there are times when you have to force yourself to work because you're not sick, you're just lazy.

Especially when you're in the humanities or any course or job that requires direct inspiration (e.g. inspiration to write, to paint, to sculpt, to create), it's very easy to use the excuse that you're not inspired. Some people would wait for inspiration to hit them. Others force themselves to have that inspiration.

One sure way that I personally do to find inspiration when it's taking a long time coming is to read. Short stories, novels, blogs, magazines, you name it. Since I'm in a writing course, reading something, anything, would more often than not make me encounter something that pings, something that resounds in my mind and opens the door to creativity. It's no fail for me.

Of course, what works for me won't necessarily work for you. I read somewhere that one of the things you have to learn to do while in college is to get yourself out of that funk most people go into for various reasons. It's when you feel uninterested in anything, or when you feel blue for no apparent reason, or when you simply feel lazy. When you find that something that gets you out of that mood, you're forcing yourself to be productive, to move. And, depending on the situation, that's not a bad thing.

So go and find your inspiration. If it doesn't want to show itself, force it to.