Finding inspiration

Inspiration is an ever-elusive, wonderfully vague concept. As a writer and (amateur) designer, both here on my blog and at work, I’m constantly called upon to be inspired and creative. And whilst I have lots of good ideas and a big imagination sometimes inspiration stays frustratingly hard to find.

Whether I’m writing a blog, designing a graphic or trying to think of a witty, creative social post, it can be hard to find something to say that hasn’t already been said before. I’m sure lots of writers will agree.

I massively envy people who seem to have ideas every other second. Those (usually very successful) people seem to draw inspiration from anywhere and anything.

Whilst I’m sure a lot of time, thought and hard work forms the base of most of these amazing concepts, they somehow make it seem effortless.

I wish it was this simple for me. I love to write and create and express myself so it’s frustrating to go for weeks without a single good idea or anything really interesting to say.

Recently, I’ve taken to writing down every random thought that pops into my head. Whether it’s something I see on the train or the workings of my inquisitive inner mind, I’ve discovered that actually, there really might be something there to write about. I have a whole notebook of super random scribblings to prove it. What I’m trying to say, in a very roundabout and ramble-y way, is that if the questions and observations are in my mind, they’re probably somewhere there in everyone else’s, too. And as someone with the ability to write and the love of it to match, I’m basically just expressing general truths for a lot of people. Which is pretty cool.

It is true, that sometimes my work distracts me from my hobby and takes the shine off a bit. Sometimes, I get home and the last thing I want to do is write a blog or edit an image. All I want to do is eat pasta and watch Friends.

But, I’ve decided, why can’t that constitute inspiration? After all, I know that that feeling is a relatable one, if conversations with my friends are anything to go by.

And ultimately, that’s what I’m kind of trying to achieve by writing on this blog. I’ve said it before, but my writing is where I express who I am and say something that people relate to and if who I am is a carb-eating, Friends-loving twenty-something who draws inspiration from people-watching and the curiosity of a three-year-old then that’s cool too.