The 9 causes of lack of inspiration (and how to manage them)

Inspiration is the state of mind that allows us to be highly creative, come up with innovative solutions, or come up with an original solution. to a new problem, so although we usually relate it to the world of art and crafts, it is relevant in many areas of lifetime. Although yes, this phenomenon comes and goes, and we do not always feel equally inspired.

In this article we will talk about causes of lack of inspiration and what to do to feel inspired again.

• Related article: "What is creativity? Are we all "potential geniuses"?

What do we understand by inspiration?

We could define inspiration as a state that allows the subject to be creative or to come up with answers that had not previously been considered. In this way, we can observe inspiration in different areas or contexts. This quality makes it possible to find new, innovative solutions that until now the subject had not had in mind or had not valued; It is not only relevant in the art world.

On many occasions we use this term especially in the artistic field, such as painting, drawing, writing... Thus, despite being able to find subjects who are more easily inspired, will not always be, since, as we have said, it is a state and, therefore, it fluctuates depending on the moment and the situation. We will see that there are conditions that help to achieve inspiration, while others will make it difficult for it to take place.

Causes that cause a lack of inspiration

Thus, we already know that there may be different factors that influence our state of inspiration, for this reason when we find ourselves with a lack of ideas, of creativity... In short, we are little inspired. The best way to deal with this state and regain inspiration is to ask ourselves and Assess what is the cause that generates this decrease, this feeling of blockage, to be able to face it.

So let's see what are some of the most common causes that can generate this lack of inspiration. These are very diverse and belong to different areas of the individual and the management of emotions.

1. Self-reinforcing feeling of emptiness

Feeling that we have no idea or that the ideas we have are not good is a very common experience. In this way, a self-sabotage occurs where the subject's own thought blocks inspiration, because we get used to being very hard or pessimistic when it comes to assessing what goes through our minds. It is the individual himself who hinders and reduces the possibility of feeling inspired, since even if he is not aware of For this, he feels an interest in feeding a tragic or sad narrative about what happens to him, to give meaning to the experience.

• You may be interested: "Existential Emptiness and the Search for Meaning: What Can Psychology Do?"

2. Panic to expose

It is about the fear of expressing ourselves and that others can read, see, know our creation. In tasks related to creativity and the expression of feelings, it is relatively common for authors to be terrified of this perspective, especially in their first steps: the work continues to be part of us, a way of expressing how we feel, what we like, what scares us...

Thus, a self-blocking can also occur due to shame or reluctance for others to know or know about us.

• Related article: "The 5 types of shame and their characteristics"

3. The fatigue

One of the most common reasons that we may not take into account is fatigue itself. To achieve inspiration it is necessary to be active and mentally awake, but at the same time, not feeling how the attentional focus is shifted towards the experience of discomfort or exhaustion.

In this way, if we do not follow a healthy routine (to keep the body in optimal conditions and with energy), if we have not rested enough, our conditions may not be the right ones to get inspired: an interesting idea may come to us from time to time, but we will get rid of it before trying to experiment with what it has contributed.

• You may be interested: "How to generate new healthy habits?"

4. stress at work

Work stress can be due to multiple situations: a high demand for work, a very authoritarian and demanding boss, a poor relationship with colleagues, poor work environment... In short, they are factors that, apart from tiring you mentally, also create a situation of tension and discomfort in you that affects your creativity. And it is that you can hardly dedicate yourself to creative work if you are always in "alert mode" directing your attention to possible signs that you must deal with an emergency, that you must get to work as soon as possible to resolve accumulated responsibilities, etc.

It is one thing to open your mind to inspiration and another to become very sensitive to any indication that you need to act quickly. to avoid danger or risks at work.

5. be very perfectionist

Wanting to do things well is generally a good thing, as it helps the subject to work hard and stay focused on the task. But one extreme of this tendency to be perfectionistic ceases to be functional, since the individual becomes inflexible and becomes more exposed to the fear of failure, something that paradoxically leads to not daring to put their own ideas.

If the person is not able to begin to apply or develop a reactive idea, he will never value it as good enough., leading to a state of blockage where the subject will not be able to move forward, hindering and thus preventing inspiration.

6. To feel down

When we are not emotionally well, either because of some specific event that affects our state of mood or because we simply do not feel 100% without there being an apparent cause, this state of apathy, mood under, affects our mental activity, makes it less fluid. In other words, emotional affectation is also linked to cognitive affectation, resulting in a decrease or lack of inspiration.

7. Being overly rational or logical

A characteristic or capacity that is related to inspiration is the flexibility that allows us to come up with different alternatives, propose different answers, which do not have to be the usual ones.

When we have a very logical or rational thought and we pretend that everything is in the same way, we we show rigidity, we only conceive the problem or reality in the same way, we do not make room for variation. This derives, as we have already mentioned, in a blockage and in the impossibility of continuing to advance, thus affecting the individual's state of inspiration.

8. Lack of motivation

Low motivation appears when we are not willing or directed towards a goal or objective, either because we are not clear about what destination we want to achieve or because the goal we have set for ourselves is too abstract. This lack of motivation obviously affects our inspiration and our ability to create or achieve the expected result.

9. Lack of time

The lack of time to dedicate to the task also harms our state of inspiration, either because other daily obligations do not allow us or because it is difficult for us to get and stay focused on the exercise.

To achieve inspiration, it is necessary to organize our time well and dedicate at least a few minutes to the task or activity that we want to carry out, since if not, it is very difficult to connect images or ideas in our mind: there will always be something that will pull them to apply them to other responsibilities and activities.

How to increase inspiration

Now that we know some of the causes that can lead to a lack of inspiration, it is more easy to understand what solutions or strategies can help improve our sensitivity to what creative.

1. face the situation

The fear of not making it perfect, of what others will think or of believing that all our ideas are wrong or worthless generates in us a refusal to act and thus avoid the situation. But the only way to get inspiration is to face the situation and pay attention to the task we want to do; If we don't concentrate on it and just avoid it, it is very difficult (if not impossible) for inspiration to arise, we don't let it take place in our mind.

2. cut lock

If we have spent some time focusing on the same activity or objective and we feel that we are not making progress and each time we feel more blocked, the best option is to stop for a more or less long time, for get us to clear our heads and return to face the task with greater motivation and with other ideas in mind, more easily to consider other perspectives.

3. do another activity

Although it may seem that to stop doing the activity that concerns us to carry out another one produces a waste of time, really changing tasks can help us open our minds, unblock ourselves and adopt another perspective of the stuff. The reason is that It will help us break the thought loops that we have been feeding by always thinking about the same things and facing the same objects and stimuli.; it is a way of "mixing" sensations, emotions and thoughts.

In this way, not only will it not slow us down, but it will help us get off the ground and be able to move forward.

4. Find what motivates you

As we have already seen, motivation is very important to keep us inspired. In this way it is essential to select what tasks or topics we like and do or focus on what we really like. Once we have connected emotionally with something that motivates us, new ideas will flow through us and we can use them for other things.

Even so, we know that life is not all that easy and that sometimes we must perform tasks that are not entirely to our liking; In these cases, try to see small points or reasons in favor that keep you motivated, such as the purpose of this task, what you can achieve, what the task entails, the sensations it gives you, the signs that you have been learning something that you considered difficult, etc.

5. Change the way you approach the activity

Another strategy that can also be useful to you is to change the way you carry out or approach the activity; curiously, the fact of putting limitations on ourselves when considering solving a creative problem helps us to have more ideas than if we had more options.

We may feel stuck and uninspired, but there are different ways of approaching the task at hand. They can help to value and take into account other perspectives, apart from the ones we had been using up to that point. moment. Thus, we can try to focus on another part of the activity, or use other themes and/or materials from which to start.