Don’t Wait for the Muse (To Build Momentum, First Get Started)

Waiting for creative inspiration to strike before creating is like only going to work when you want to.

Or only exercising when you want to.

Or only showing up for family and friends when you want to.

Only answering the phone when you feel like it.

Only having integrity when it suits you.

Only scooping the cat poop when the sun is in Sagittarius…

Sometimes, it is necessary to lean into your aspirations.

Sometimes, the desire to create doesn’t kick in until you get the gears turning.

Don’t wait for desire. You may be waiting for a long time…

Once in a while, creative inspiration divinely rains down from the sky and bubbles up from within like you’re a hot spring of ideas.

Usually when you’re about to go to sleep or walking in the middle of nowhere. Or on the toilet.

OK, this is one of those times I am saying “you” when I mean “me.”

But maybe you relate.

By buckling down every day and creating, with or without the motivation at the outset, a remarkable thing happens.

Creation, when initiated consistently, eventually becomes automatic.

Your art flows out of you, and you realize some of your most satisfying work spawns from just showing up every day and doing the best you can with what you’ve got.

Instead of waiting around for a slap on the butt and whisper in your ear from the muse, you become your own muse.

It may seem like if you “force it” that your output will surely be mediocre or disastrous.

Who cares (besides you)?

Showing up and creating, is not about making a masterpiece every day.

Showing up consistently is about the maintenance of your inner machine. Your cognitive factory.

Through daily practice, you optimize your ability to produce. Momentum cascades. New categories of ideas and plans develop.

Like with physical muscles, creative capacities undergo atrophy when neglected.

But in both physical and mental contexts, starting small and being consistent, leads to newfound strength, stability, and competency.

Not all of your art has to be (and shouldn’t be) shared with the world.

Let go of the pressure of what other people think.

Create because creation is the path to feeling alive.

You can decide on a case-by-case basis, which creations are for the world, and which are for your own maintenance.

Every creation, public and private, is another piece of the tower of your life.

When you feel alive, you light up the world with your art and ideas.

You inspire, “Aha!” moments in some people. You inspire them to create more too.

My heart melts when I see your paintings on Facebook.

Or read your blogs.

Hear your songs.

Bear witness to your brilliant ideas and ventures.

Your artistry puts me in a state of awe.

Your creative powers upgrade my hope that tomorrow can be better than yesterday.

That’s valuable, and I guarantee I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Tell your story. Sing your song. Paint your mural. Start your business. Get on YouTube.

Whatever it is you do. Do that.

Express yourself, be yourself, free yourself.

Whether you feel like it in the beginning or not.

You will thank yourself later.

One day at a time.

Your future is not going to build itself.