The respiratory nature of creativity:
Inspiration is legendary for being the great motivator of epic innovations and works of art. Many an amateur artist does his or her work only when inspired. Many an hour has been wasted waiting on a muse to bring motivation.
Waiting for inspiration in order to create is akin to holding your breath.
Inspiration is input. It’s the raw material that is credited with starting the creative process. It is also half of breathing. The other half is expiration, output. You can’t have one without the other.
Constantly seeking inspiration before attempting creative work is like only inhaling. You can’t collect breaths. You must exhale. You must put forth into the world. You must create. Clarity comes after you begin.
It’s a rhythmic cycle. Breath in—develop a thought, follow a hunch, experience a feeling, read a book. Then exhale. Immediately. Write a poem, create a business plan, invent a new widget, reorganize your kitchen, whatever you are inspired to do. Don’t hesitate. Don’t hold your breath. Flow.
Collecting inspirations is like collecting air in your lungs. At some point you gotta let it go.
Take in a deep draught of inspiration and then release it. Do the work.
Once you’ve expired a breath, or taken a creative action, then repeat. Follow the pattern.
One of the few constants in life is that you will be breathing.
Breathing comes natural. No one says they just aren’t the breathing type. Likewise, everyone is creative.
It doesn’t require a unique talent to breath. Nor does it require a unique talent to be creative. Both are innate. Both are ubiquitous. No one has to work at breathing nor does anyone have to work at being creative. And because of that, most daily creative acts go unnoticed. They just seem to be something we do.
Not everyone can deep dive holding their breath for five minutes and not everyone can write the Great American Novel, but we all breath and we all create.