www.inspiredbylifeandfiction.com
Is inspiration like meth? It’s a drug that makes you feel warm and tingly on the inside. As a maker, you feel the pump in your creative muscle, a surge of energy that finally helps you defeat the block. But as quickly as the inspiration comes, it vanishes. You're left to swipe at your phone scavenging for the next video or status update that may inspire you again.
I find myself waiting for inspiration. Searching for the right book, quote, or GaryVee video to finally hit home and fuel a night of vigorous work. Why is this so? And have humans always dealt with this problem?
Technology + Inspiration = Mind Control
The hunt for inspiration has always been relevant, but the supercomputers in our pockets have turned this hunt into a desperate thirst. The smartphone is a gateway to all the information in the world—ever. It’s a blessing and a curse. With great power comes great numbers of people trying to manipulate you with that power. Our advancements in technology mixed with our pre-existing psychological hardwiring have created a perfect storm of inspiration addiction.
In 1950, B. F. Skinner discovered a tendency to crave a variable schedule of rewards. He conducted a series of experiments on mice in his now infamous Skinner Box. In the control group, mice pressed a lever which dispensed a single treat. When the study group pressed the lever, it would randomly dispense a small treat, a large treat, or no treat. Never knowing which size treat will appear, or if one would come at all, this group of mice pressed the lever compulsively. It’s the reason for your 15-minute Instagram binges.
In his book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Nir Eyal made the connection between a variable schedule of rewards and a model that companies use to engage online users and keep them hooked. “At the heart of the Hook Model is a variable schedule of rewards: a powerful hack that focuses attention, provides pleasure, and infatuates the mind.”
Companies like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat etc. use this Hook Model to trap us in a 21st century Skinner Box. We’re only one swipe away from finding a reward which could come in the form of a hilarious cat video, a new Fat Jewish meme, or inspiring fitness quote. The sad truth is we’ve become addicted to the possibility of a reward. Often times it doesn’t come.
The uninspired truth
Seven nights of consistent, boring work will always trump one night of radical activity. Always.
Since completing 33 consecutive days of vlogging leading up to my last fight, I’ve been stuck in a creative rut wondering what I should do next. I’ve been creating videos, images, and logos for clients, but nothing that I want to see in the world. So I waited. I wandered down YouTube rabbit holes and read self-help books, searching for adequate inspiration. And it still hasn’t come.
Align yourself with your reality
I’m a maker. Creating things is what I do. I yearn to achieve Bruce Lee’s vision to express oneself honestly and I’m fascinated by self-actualization. Realizing that the perfect inspiration will never come, I put in the work and out came this article. It took me seven long days to create this post. It's not my favorite and I don’t care if anyone even reads it. I’m just happy I created something I wanted to see in the world.
Oddly enough I feel inspired to write more. With action comes inspiration.
“Action isn’t just the effect of motivation, but also the cause of it.” - Mark Manson
Inspiration creates an emotional response like passion. Is it the true "follow your bliss" type of passion? Or is it the passion that makes you drive across the state to chase your ex-girlfriend after receiving a late night text? The crazy kind of passion is detrimental. You may feel alive in the moment, but it won’t last. It’s not fulfilling. It’s fleeting.
Inspiration will help you create a masterful work of art. But what’s even more important than inspiration is the work itself. You can have all the inspiration in the world, but you can’t create anything without putting in the work. And the funny thing about work is, you can do it when you’re happy, sad, bored, or even…uninspired.