Today’s value: Inspiration

The magical moment when the light bulb switches on in your head. When a few random, unconnected thoughts start forming a pattern and come together into something new entirely. And that sparks immense joy that wants to be shared with others.

For this to happen you need a good rhythm between input of all sorts (the more diverse and the more appealing to different senses the better), and lots of downtime in between to process, and for your brain to be idle enough to start forming new associations and connections. It is not a coincidence that people often quote “the shower” as a key place for inspiration. Or the morning run. Or knitting. Not being completely idle while you are running circles in your own head, but some light activity that is not in the way of deeper thinking. Like running or knitting.

We often overpower ourselves in our own lives with input, activity, sensory input. We don’t always allow ourselves the luxury of the more “empty”-looking processing time. This is key though. If you don’t refill this reservoir, you won’t be able to draw from it when you do need that key idea to tackle that problem. Entrepreneurship with its ethos of “the grind” and “the hustle” can be particularly susceptible to this I find. Your mind is one of your key resources – take good care of it!

Schedule some downtime where your senses can recover. A silent walk. A quiet slow dinner at candle light. Listening to some music without multitasking. A hot bath. A train ride without multitasking. A conversation with a friend. Visiting an art exhibition or a concert.

How do you take care of your inspiration? What are your own building blocks and how do you make sure they happen within your day, your week?

Check out the values worksheet here.
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