In recent weeks I have been focusing on becoming more aware of my thought stream.
After spending the majority of the Christmas/New Year period immersed in reading books, blogs and articles about innovating thinking, meditation, mindfulness and stress management.
I found myself attempting to force a stream of creativity.
For days I sat down with my notebook waiting for inspiration to majestically emerge. Well, it didn’t happen. I became frustrated.
I soon realised that the root of my frustration was my inability to force something that is intrinsically organic. I harked back to days of thesis writing where I would write for hours, listening to Loretta Lynn and absorbing chapters of Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity like I now absorb caffeine.
I stopped. Put down my notebook and went for a run. That was five days ago.
Yesterday I woke up, turned on the Nespresso machine, browsed through my Google Reader and noticed an abundance of CES related articles and digital music startups. Something in my head clicked. I stopped reading. I found the nearest piece of paper and scribbled down a basic map of a project that I now want to set in motion over the coming months.
And guess what? It’s going to be awesome.
What am I learning?
Inspiration cannot be forced and passing ideas cannot be let go.
I’ve had the exact same issue recently! It can be so hard to “let go” and wait for the ideas to arrive in their own time!
You reminded me of this great quote:
“One can resist the invasion of an army but one cannot resist the invasion of ideas.” – Victor Hugo
Can’t wait to see what your new project is all about!