How to create without waiting for inspiration

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Blogger Max Ogles recently released a book called Boost: Create Good Habits Using Psychology and Technology. It's about how psychology and technology can help us develop good habits. Below is an excerpt from it, answering the questions of what inspiration is and what traits will help you create without waiting for the muse.

Tastes could not be discussed. Especially in music. But The Beatles are the best band ever. And before you write a grumpy comment, a few facts:

• The Beatles are the world's best selling band. More than a billion units of media content purchased related to the group.
• The Beatles tops Rolling Stone magazine's list of the greatest artists of all time. On the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the Liverpool Four has the most songs - 23.
• Traffic at the London intersection of Abbey Road near the studio of the same name is periodically paralyzed: fans take pictures trying to reproduce the cover of The Beatles' latest studio album - Abbey Road. Paralyzed so much that the authorities are about the regulator.

Analyzing this, you involuntarily ask yourself: who are these people? How did they achieve this level of musical prowess and such resounding success? Canadian journalist and pop sociologist Malcolm Gladwell, in Outliers: The Story of Success (2008), cites The Beatles as one example of the 10,000-hour rule. According to Gladwell, anyone who has worked hard in a particular area for more than 10,000 hours will become an expert in it, and if he has an innate talent, a genius.

Inspiration, multiplied by work, gives a truly phenomenal result. This was the case with Paul McCartney when he wrote one of the most popular compositions in the world.

The song was called Scrambled Eggs. This is how Paul recalls the story of its creation:

I woke up with a melody in my head. I thought, “Great! I wonder what it is? " There was a piano near the window to the right of my bed. I got out of bed, sat down at the instrument, found salt, found F sharp minor. This led me to B and A minor and finally back to A. Everything went by itself. I really liked the melody, but I couldn't even dream that I composed it myself. I thought: "It cannot be, because I have not written anything like this before." But I already had this magic melody.

For a while, McCartney was sure that he had heard this tune somewhere before. But, not finding the author, I realized that I had composed it myself. The first version of the text contained the following words:

Scrambled eggs, oh, my dear, how I like your legs …

Scrambled eggs, Oh, my baby how I love your legs …

According to John Lennon's recollections, the song remained unfinished for a long time and would pop up whenever the band worked on new material. Today the whole world knows this composition as Yesterday. She has won many awards and entered the Guinness Book of Records as the most hyped - over 3,000 covers.

The origins of inspiration

If only it were always like this: I woke up in the morning, and great music sounds in my head. However, such a spark of insight can be expected for years …

Inspiration is not a matter of chance. This is something that can be synthesized, something that does not have to wait.

There is psychological research to prove this.

In 2003, University of Rochester psychologists Todd Thrash and Andrew Elliot explored the fundamental psychological nature of inspiration. It consisted of seven parts, dozens of hypotheses were tested, amazing experiments were carried out, and the foundation for further research was created. As a result, we achieved two important results:

• a psychological scale for measuring the level of inspiration has been developed;
• compiled a list of more than 30 personality traits that form it.

In fact, Thrush and Elliot provided a scientific basis for the phenomenon of inspiration. Inspiration is not providence, it is not the kiss of a muse. It is a combination of personality traits and habits.

Which ones? As already mentioned, scientists have compiled a list of more than 30 features. Among them there are three main ones: openness to new things, self-esteem and creativity.

The bad news is that you don't have to wait for the flashback at the checkout in the supermarket. It won't come. Inspiration is part of you, your personality. But the good news is that you can change, develop those traits that will help you create as well as McCartney.

Three main features

Hundreds of articles have been written about each of these features. You can study them and find the method that suits you. But we will give a few initial recommendations right now. You will also learn about apps that can help you change your habits.

Technology is a great tool for personal transformation.

OPEN TO NEW

In conclusion to their study, Thrush and Elliot wrote:

The results show that inspiration promotes sensory awareness.

Openness to new things is a trait that is not easy to develop. It is difficult to give up the usual routine because it gives us a sense of comfort and security. Many commute the same route to work every day. It's more convenient and faster this way. But this monotony, alas, is not conducive to inspiration.

A simple solution that allows you to become more open to new knowledge and experience is to constantly do things that are atypical for you. Take a route that has never been traveled, turn on a radio station that you have never listened to, order a dish in a restaurant that you have never eaten. Blow up the routine!

The service will help you with this. It was created for people who want to change and learn something new. You can set goals that are unusual for you (learn to play tennis, bake a cake), and the service will remind you of them and demonstrate your progress. Plus, you'll be able to get approval from other users - an additional incentive to move forward.

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SELF-ESTEEM

Inspiration comes to people with high self-esteem. If you think that your ability is mediocre and constantly look back at the opinions of others, then you are unlikely to achieve enthusiasm.

Self-esteem problems can have deep psychological roots. It may even be worth contacting a specialist, but the easiest way to add value to your own self is not to compare yourself with others. It's pointless.

There will always be someone smarter, more beautiful, richer than you. You cannot be the best always and in everything.

Instead of dwelling on it, list what you are proud of, for which you are grateful to fate.

The Grateful app will help you stimulate your self-esteem every day. The concept, clothed in a nice interface, is simple: you need to create a thank you card every day. “Today I am grateful that I was healthy and had a great workout.” “Today I am grateful that I have a good job and have completed an important project. A collection of your merits and achievements will gradually accumulate. It can be flipped whenever self-esteem gets hit in the stomach.

CREATIVITY

The development of creativity is associated with openness to the new. You need to go beyond the ordinary to find a way to express yourself. And again, sticks in the wheels put habits. Imagine you are standing in line. What is your brain doing? It is unlikely that you are composing a poem or thinking over a script for a video that you have long dreamed of filming. Most likely, you are just flipping through the feeds in your smartphone.

In the 21st century, people have forgotten that sometimes intelligence and imagination are all that is needed for entertainment. Forgotten so much that they are ready to receive light electric shocks, just not to get bored alone with their thoughts. At least the University of Virginia showed it.

Psychology professor Timothy Wilson and colleagues have tested both young and old people (up to 80 years old), and found that it is difficult for people to endure even a few minutes alone when nothing (no smartphones, no laptops, no TV, other people) does not distract their attention.

… Our participants have consistently demonstrated that they would rather not be in a situation where there is nothing but their thoughts, even for a short time.

For more tips from Max Ogles on acquiring good habits and eradicating bad habits with a variety of apps, see his book. It is now available in a Kindle version on Amazon.