by Kimberly Design Love | Motivation Mindset
How to Find Inspiration in Nature
Most of us would admit to finding a sunset somewhat moving and possibly inspirational. Few of us can walk past a beautifully red and purple sky without stopping to take a look and probably upload a picture to Instagram. The same can be said of star-filled skies and crashing waves.
But what is it about nature that we find so beautiful and so inspirational? Why are poets, artists, and musicians drawn to these scenes? And how can you use this to encourage more creativity in your own life?
Why We Find Nature Beautiful
It’s a mistake to say that we find nature beautiful in particular. In fact, we can just as easily experience a sense of awe looking at man-made things. Try climbing to the top of a high building and looking out over the skyline of a city, and see how you feel. Likewise, many of us would express a sense of awe looking at the pyramids.
We feel awe, reverence, and wonder when we see things that we find hard to fathom and that we can’t quite take in all at once. Things incredibly intricate, incredibly beautiful, or incredibly vast all create a sense of being small in a university full of incredible possibilities. Research shows that this is a universal feeling, even shared by some animals, and that it appears to be beneficial for any species as a whole as it encourages altruism and community. Researchers often call these moments ‘peak experiences’.
Where the Inspiration Comes In
So why does this lead to inspiration?
The key thing to recognize is that peak experiences involve novelty and scale. They light up lots of areas of our brain as we struggle to comprehend the entirety of what we’re seeing. This lighting up of the brain results in lots of memories, ideas, and thoughts flowing all at once and this is often said to be the perfect condition for ideas to emerge.
At the same time, beautiful scenes and majestic sights trigger the release of neurotransmitters that make us feel relaxed and exhilarated at the same time. Again, this puts us in a state that is conducive to creative thought and mental experimentation.
How to Harness Peak Experiences
So how do you harness these peak experiences to trigger more innovation and creativity in your life? One way to do this is to subject yourself to more beauty. Go on walks, travel the world, even just spend some time on Google images! Another is to try and appreciate the majesty in even your smallest moments. When you see a flower bloom for the first time, or when you see a swarm of bees, stop to think of all that it represents and of the intricate beauty therein. The greatest poets are those who can see inspiration in all they survey.
by Kimberly Design Love | Motivation Mindset
Five Effective Ways to Get Inspiration
Lost for inspiration? Here are five techniques you can use to try and coax something new and exciting out of your brain! They won’t always work, but give them a go, and you might just be surprised.
Going for a Walk is a Great Way to Get Inspiration
Walks are inspiring for a number of reasons. For starters, they allow us to take a break from what we’re doing and to change our environment. In turn, this leads to new input that can help us to gain new perspective on whatever problem or task we’re wrestling with.
At the same time, walking is a monotonous task that allows our default mode network to kick in. This, essentially, means that we’re daydreaming, which is, often, a source of great inspiration.
Ask the Right Questions
Sometimes, inspiration is just about asking the right questions, which can help to reframe the problem you’re facing in order to look at it in a new way. For instance, if you’re wondering how to solve a problem and you can’t come up with an answer, try asking yourself how ‘Johnny’ would approach it. Likewise, instead of thinking about what you want something to be, decide what you don’t want it to be.
Take a Break
Sometimes, the best thing you can do to spark some creativity or solve a problem is to take a break. This way, you stop trying to force the idea, which simply creates stress, and instead, you simply let it come to you now that you’ve entered all your input. This is why we’re often encouraged to sleep on big decisions.
Listen to Music
Music can be highly inspiring as it alters our mood and energy level and takes us to different places. Often, you’ll find that music can leave you lost in thought, so try listening to some tracks while you mull over a subject, and see if that helps.
Talk it Over
There’s a myth that ideas take the form of lightbulbs or lightning strikes and that they come in a flash, fully formed. Actually, when questioned, most people admit that their best ideas formulated slowly, that they gestated for days, months, or even years before emerging.
Often, the best ideas are not formed in isolation either but rather when we discuss them with other people. Even if we’re just thinking aloud, this can help us to see new perspectives and will often result in new breakthroughs.
by Kimberly Design Love | Empowerment, Motivation Mindset
Personal empowerment is about taking control over your life. Of course, life is multi-faceted. There could be many areas of your life that you want to improve or feel more control over – for example, your finances, your career, your health and maybe even your love life.
Instead of feeling like a victim or like circumstances control you, you can become empowered. The first step to empowerment is to begin to identify your self–empowerment goals.
Your self empowerment goals help you take action and direct your life to where you want it to be. Identifying those goals can feel confusing and overwhelming. Your answers to the following questions will help you define your personal empowerment goals.
3 Ways to Help You Identify your Self Empowerment Goals
1. Where Do You Feel Unhappy?
Take a look at your life and start asking questions. Focus on where you feel most happy and where you feel unhappy. Unhappiness may stem from not feeling appreciated, purposeful, or respected. Explore where you feel unhappy and why. You can then set goals to reduce or even eliminate that unhappiness.
For example, if you’re unhappy because you never have any energy, you can begin researching the cause of your lack of energy. You can then set a goal to get more sleep, eat better, or you visit a health care practitioner to identify the cause.
2. Where Do You Feel Like a Victim?
Whether you feel like a victim of circumstance, your past, or a victim of a person or organization, you can regain control and set empowerment goals to move past this feeling. For example, maybe you feel like a victim of circumstance with your current financial situation. Assess why you feel like a victim and what you can do to turn around the situation.
3. Where Do You Feel Confident?
What are your strengths? When do you feel most confident? In what areas of your life do you feel like you’re most in control? Sometimes when you focus more on these areas of your life and strengthen your sense of joy and empowerment, it spills over into other areas of your life.
Identifying and defining your self empowerment goals takes some time and deep thought. Give yourself time to think about how you feel about your life and what steps you can take to make your future one that you’re excited about.
Grab a notebook and start jotting down goals and ideas for your future. Don’t just stop at the goal that you want to set for yourself; also identify how you’re going to achieve that goal. What steps are you going to take? Identifying your goals is the first step to living a more empowered life.
