Finding motivation

As well as my Jedi studies, I would like to accomplish another creative goal this year. In the past, this would have been either drawing or writing (possibly both). I have an unfinished book in my laptop (who doesn't..?) and a 5 year old who would look good immortalized in colored pencils. A few years ago, I would have been able to spend many happy hours working on either of these. Now, I can't seem to start. I don't know whether my need to be creative is not as strong as I believe now, or whether I'm just not pushing myself enough.

If it's the latter (which seems more likely - I do enjoy both writing and drawing, however time-consuming and difficult they are), how can I motivate myself? Early mornings used to be my writing time, and late evenings for drawing. Now, early mornings are for sleeping and late evenings for reading or films.

If anyone has some motivation tips, or other input, I would appreciate it. (I've attached a sample of a drawing I did of my [now] 14 year old. I don't seem to have a photo of the completed picture, though.)

Sorry I love that comic

I'm one of those who do things on inspiration but I remember hearing that if you set aside time to do writing or drawing during the day you can make a habit of it. Something like: Every day at 5PM spend an hour doing [writing/drawing/anything creative]

Another idea is (provided the creation isn't a reward in and of itself) is make it a reward. If I do an hour of [creation], I get [treat].

Just some thoughts

Your need to be creative is just as strong as ever, more so probably, but the old ways of doing it are exhausted. You may come back to them when youve refreshed yourself but right now be ok with letting go of anything that doesnt energize you just by thinking about it.

If you get to thinking of a subject and the very act of thinking it motivates you to action then get up and act. If you find when you get there that its not really that important to you to do it right now then give yourself persmission to let it go
in this way we keep from exhausting ourselves and our passions
its good to be passionate about things
its debilitating to try to force ourselves to act on passions we used to feel rather than finding the ones appropriate for the NOW
also it is debilitating to be consumed by our passion. We all need to step back from what we are passionate about kn a regular basis so that we and our passions can stay fresh and light. By clinging too fiercely we distort them and ourselves


It is no affront to your 5 yr old or to your 14 yr old to draw something else
and it is no affront to one passion for us to grow into a new passion.
The things that we genuinely love are so much a part of us that it is not possible to really leave them behind. We take them everywhere we go. Sometimes we learn to do them in complety differrnt ways from what we have always known

My suggestion to you is dont worry about it. really and truely dont worry about anything.
go play
if you want to sleep late then sleep late
if you want movies in the evening then watch movies

cultivate the feeling that its ok to do what you WANT to do.
cultivate the feeling that youre allowed to want or not want, to do or not do, anything in the world, without feeling like it is an affront to something or someone else

if the theme of your life thus far has not highlighted LAZY as one of your more personal challenges then its liky that theres no need to "motivate yourself" right now

if LAZY has been a problem for you then writing out a daily schedule may be helpful. Like, not simply "MONDAY; write something"
but like MONDAY 8am MEDITATION/PRAYER
10am clean home
NOON: write wookie background
2pm: draw ANYTHING
All day: relax!
for my own life i can say its an excersize of grasping and letting go
focus
release focus

structure
freedom

if you need something active and disciplined to do
try this

1) what does it mean to have a good life? what makes a good life different from a bad life?

2) what do i REALLY belive in NOW at this time in my life?
if i give myself permission to let go of everything that ive ever held on to, and i accept the challenge of deliberately selecting only what is genuinely important to me to retain, what will i be left with?

3) if tonight is my last night on earth, if i have to transition to the next place whatever that is, is there anything i would look out at before leaving and think, my life really did miss out on something magical for my never having made the time or opportunity for this particular thing?

4) if i can only direct my energy into either loving the things that i am doing
or into doing the things that i would love,
where would this leave me?

thank you for giving me the chance to remember these things.

Kamizu wrote: I'm one of those who do things on inspiration but I remember hearing that if you set aside time to do writing or drawing during the day you can make a habit of it. Something like: Every day at 5PM spend an hour doing [writing/drawing/anything creative]

Another idea is (provided the creation isn't a reward in and of itself) is make it a reward. If I do an hour of [creation], I get [treat].

Just some thoughts

I read somewhere along my travels that night owls do better creative work in the mornings, and early birds do better creative work at night.

My motivation or inspiration has always come in spurts, but I write in a more sporadic manner as I have gotten older. Mind altering techniques can also help to provide the motivation and inspiration to be creative for myself. Dreams have also provided me with inspiration. There are things you can do to help you recall dreams as simple as setting the alarm clock to go off at intervals. There are also numerous things you can do to affect(or effect English experts) your dreams. One could also study anything that they find deeply interesting and utilize the information they gather for inspiration.

I'm the same way! I used to get up early and read before I go to bed, now sleep and YouTube are my best friends haha

I say do something that will prevent you from straying away, like setting an alarm everyday and forcing yourself to get up or making yourself sit at your laptop (don't use social media!!!) and write or draw or whatever when you really want to be watching a movie. It's difficult, I'm a university student trust me I know hahaha

You should have a time where you go back to what you were doing and you'll find that all that reading and watching movies will pay off! You'll have so many ideas now that you exposed yourself to other things and your creative mind is probably full of great things.

Let the Force flow through you and give you the creativity and motivation you need.

Hope that helped MTFBWY

Motivation comes and goes. Cultivate discipline. Attaining worthwhile goals require it. I suggest taking up a martial art. The mindset will help you in every other facet of your life, including these.

rugadd wrote: Motivation comes and goes. Cultivate discipline.

I felt like this deserved a double post.

OB1Shinobi wrote: Your need to be creative is just as strong as ever, more so probably, but the old ways of doing it are exhausted. You may come back to them when youve refreshed yourself but right now be ok with letting go of anything that doesnt energize you just by thinking about it.

If you get to thinking of a subject and the very act of thinking it motivates you to action then get up and act. If you find when you get there that its not really that important to you to do it right now then give yourself persmission to let it go
in this way we keep from exhausting ourselves and our passions
its good to be passionate about things
its debilitating to try to force ourselves to act on passions we used to feel rather than finding the ones appropriate for the NOW
also it is debilitating to be consumed by our passion. We all need to step back from what we are passionate about kn a regular basis so that we and our passions can stay fresh and light. By clinging too fiercely we distort them and ourselves


It is no affront to your 5 yr old or to your 14 yr old to draw something else
and it is no affront to one passion for us to grow into a new passion.
The things that we genuinely love are so much a part of us that it is not possible to really leave them behind. We take them everywhere we go. Sometimes we learn to do them in complety differrnt ways from what we have always known

My suggestion to you is dont worry about it. really and truely dont worry about anything.
go play
if you want to sleep late then sleep late
if you want movies in the evening then watch movies

cultivate the feeling that its ok to do what you WANT to do.
cultivate the feeling that youre allowed to want or not want, to do or not do, anything in the world, without feeling like it is an affront to something or someone else

if the theme of your life thus far has not highlighted LAZY as one of your more personal challenges then its liky that theres no need to "motivate yourself" right now

if LAZY has been a problem for you then writing out a daily schedule may be helpful. Like, not simply "MONDAY; write something"
but like MONDAY 8am MEDITATION/PRAYER
10am clean home
NOON: write wookie background
2pm: draw ANYTHING
All day: relax!
for my own life i can say its an excersize of grasping and letting go
focus
release focus

structure
freedom

if you need something active and disciplined to do
try this

1) what does it mean to have a good life? what makes a good life different from a bad life?

2) what do i REALLY belive in NOW at this time in my life?
if i give myself permission to let go of everything that ive ever held on to, and i accept the challenge of deliberately selecting only what is genuinely important to me to retain, what will i be left with?

3) if tonight is my last night on earth, if i have to transition to the next place whatever that is, is there anything i would look out at before leaving and think, my life really did miss out on something magical for my never having made the time or opportunity for this particular thing?

4) if i can only direct my energy into either loving the things that i am doing
or into doing the things that i would love,
where would this leave me?

thank you for giving me the chance to remember these things.

I feel this also deserves a double post.

The reason I find myself lacking motivation is because I make myself WORK instead of PLAY.

When I was a kid, it was never work to setup my action figures among a maze of books and play out my own stories... or take out my notebook and draw my fantasy characters... or write my fiction stories of my own epic imaginary worlds. The idea of "work" for those things never existed in my mind. But as I grew up, the expectation of WORK WORK WORK got drilled into me so much that it took over my sense of simply PLAYING.... which is simply, DOING WHAT YOU ENJOY FOR THE SAKE OF THE ENJOYMENT YOU CAN GET OUT OF DOING IT.... As we grow older, it gets very difficult to find the enjoyment in things that we view as work... But I can guarantee that if you put yourself into the present moment and pay attention to the little things, the sensations, and the fact that when you work, what you do is a creation of your own, that you intrinsically own. When you clean up your yard and you make it look really nice, can it not be a work of art that you just created? You are afforded that bragging right - you created that. And that is the same nature that exists in every single thing that you do. And it's tapped into when what you do is PLAY and not WORK. Doing for the sake of doing it and finding the enjoyment of actually doing it...

Wax on, wax off, says Mr Miyagi.

Take yourself back to when you were a kid and you enjoyed the play that you did... and see how you can find the same thing in whatever you wish to accomplish today... and just "be there" when you're doing it. You won't need discipline for that. It will come natural, and you'll enjoy it on your own terms.

Wow, I wasn't expecting such a great response to this thread. There are so many excellent thoughts and ideas here that it's going to take me a few days to process them. However, I would like to highlight OB1's post, as it has certainly hit a nerve with me (in a good way). Thank you.

You have given me some things to reflect on, more than just the 'motivation tips' I was anticipating. Once again, proof that every day is an opportunity to learn and grow.