Myth: Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes after you start.

How creativity works in the movies

Movies often depict artists being stuck by a gust of inspiration. The next scene is the artist feverishly painting. The next scene is a time lapse or montage, with music, followed by the finished masterpiece.

The creativity feeling

Everyone experiences creativity differently so I can only speak to my own feelings. For me, time fades away, your mind is clear, you enter a high state of calm, focus. In the best sessions, you enter a state of flow.

Don’t wait for inspiration

There’s a misconception that the wonderful feelings associated with creativity come before you start creative work. Some people will wait until they are feeling inspired before starting. However, I’ve found in practice, it’s the opposite: the wonderful feelings of creativity come after you start.

Start creating

If the feelings associated with creativity bring you joy, you are unlikely to feel that joy before starting unless you happen to be doing something creative (like daydreaming). If you are going about your standard daily activities, the feelings of inspiration are unlikely to hit you all of a sudden and inspire you to create.

Life gets easier once you accept this mental model for thinking about inspiration and the positive feelings of creativity. Often, the hardest part is starting. Knowing that you don’t need to wait until the rare moment you are feeling inspired to create will free you to do more creative work.