I started this list to inspire you to move past writer’s fatigue. I created it to help you cultivate a garden of possibility instead of a stagnating pond. This is part II of things you can sample to open your heart and nourish your mind. They are seeds that will blossom if tended to. Try it and let it move your life…
6) Move your heart.
One of my goals this year is to give back. It’s a tradition I want to start with my new family. I want my son to understand the importance of compassion and helping others. I want to teach him gratitude and humility. So far, we’ve donated money, walked in the American Diabetes Association Step Out Walk, got a few salon services to help the Surfrider Foundation Oahu chapter, and spent an evening and provided food at the Ronald McDonald House.
Try it: Volunteerism moves us in ways we cannot imagine. It’s a selfish act that appears to be selfless. When we give to others, we open our heart. We get the gift of hope and love. And we realize we are more alike than we think. If you have been helped in time of suffering, then you have something to give back. When we return the favor we’ve been given, we also open the door to inspiration.
7) Move your beliefs.
We can get stuck in believing our way is the only way. That can trap us as writers, as soul seekers, as creative beings. In order to grow, we must accept other people’s differences, not as our way, but as an alternative route. You may not choose to travel on it or even visit. But at least recognize it is there, acknowledge it and find inspiration from it.
Try it: Attend a religious service different from your own. Read a memoir from a person you don’t admire. Befriend someone with different viewpoints from your own. The more you’re able to tolerate external differences, the more you will be able to tolerate the differences within yourself.
8) Move your thoughts.
Negativity and a sense of hopelessness are surefire ways to close the door on inspiration. Sometimes all it takes is being in the presence of someone (past or present) who can uplift you.
Try it: Read a memoir, biography or autobiography of someone who has overcome an obstacle. Listen to a podcast of an inspiring leader. Watch positive shows. Saturate yourself in positivity and you will gain insight that will help inspire a new way of thinking.
9) Move your creativity.
To feel inspired, you need to be inspired. Immerse yourself in beauty and let it push you past what you believed to be creatively possible, straight into ingenuity.
Try it: Peruse art at a gallery. Attend a festival, a live concert, a historical museum. Read award-winning books or turn the pages of a beautiful coffee book.
10) Move your wardrobe.
If you wear the same type of clothing, color or uniform. Mix it up. Be like a leaf that changes through the seasons from fiery red to pumpkin orange, from burnt brown to summery yellow. You will be surprised by how much your life can change by trying on a different look.
Try it: Wear something uncharacteristically you. If you’re a sweatpants wearing girl, glam it up. If you’re always wearing slacks and a buttoned down shirt, try something more casual.
11) Move your mouth.
If your taste buds could talk it would say, “Give me something new!” Experimenting with new tastes, textures and cultures can add new zing into your life. It can inspire a new character. Trying something wild and crazy with food may turn you into a wild and crazy new you.
Try it: Cook something from a different culture. Host a dinner-of-the-month club where you and your friends experiment with different recipes and/or restaurants or swap meals to try someone else’s version of a home cooked meal.