The Creative Urge

Who are you inspired by? 


It's a serious question. And I'm pretty sure if you ask almost anyone, they'll have a ready answer. They'd be able to tell you who their most-loved people are, their heroes, and almost positively at least one individual would delve into a list of favorite celebrities and/or pop stars. 


But I tend to believe that inspiration is a little more complicated than that. 


More plainly put, who makes you want to do things? Because that's what being inspired is all about. It takes the maybe-someday attitude out of the equation. It creates a motivation that races for the finish line, that blossoms into getting it done, however many miles, however long the getting goes. 


So, with that in mind, here's another question, one we've all no doubt heard exactly thirty or forty (million) times since our senior years of high school: 


"What do you want to do?" 


Basically, it's the modified version of being asked what we want to be when we grow up. And with such daunting inquiries, such blanketed demands of our interests or talents, we had better grow up quick. Such words often used to make me roll my eyes. Mainly, if I had to pick one reason, because what we want to do is often so vast and void and unexplainable, that picking just one thing to commit to, all when we're just barely through being a teenager, seems like a nearly impossible task. Sure, there are the high points, the pastimes or hobbies that win out above all the rest. But just because we'd really like to become this or that doesn't mean we will only be this or that. Hopefully, we will have the rest of our lives to keep answering that question. 


Still, more responsible individuals (present company excluded) expect you to have an answer and a plan, colleges require that you pick a major, future companies want to see your concentration in a specific area. It makes sense, in that way. If you want to be exceptional at something, giving it your attention and respect and practice is probably the most logical way to achieve such an idea. 


But, back to the original question for a second here. Did you know that inspiration specifically applies in fostering the urge to do something creative? And, in the end, if we really had our way of things, do you think we'd prefer to do the things that urge us instead of the things that are merely possible? 


With that in mind, I have a revised version of this formerly timeless question that insists we have the ability to capture the next forty years of our life in a few succinct, intelligent phrases:


What are you URGED to do? 


Think about that, and I guarantee you will have a different answer for those you feel inspired by. When it comes to what we truly delight in, and the people who understand such, we have to consider: Who encourages you? Who hopes the best for you and tells you so? Who says the hard stuff, the honest truths, the what-ifs that make us sleepless, restless, worried? Who thinks we really can succeed at what moves us? Who finds our efforts brave, worthy, enlightening? 


The real answers to those questions will probably bring our inspiration a little closer to home, and a little closer to us. It's a hard time to live through, to be sure. Not the worst time, certainly not the best, though certainly a time we will all survive. What doesn't hurt, however, is the company of those who think we really have what it takes. Not because they're our moms or our friends. But because they can see what we really want and what we really have to offer. That being said, make your urges obvious and sincere. If you want people to believe in you, offer you help, pass along your resume, advocate your abilities, then give them a clear picture of what they stand behind. After all, to have followers or fans of any kind, the leader needs to keep moving forward, in whatever direction they take. 


Sometimes it's all we can do to keep going, to remember that we have people who are counting on us, who don't find our hang-ups to be failures, but rather a crucial part of the process. I have people that think I can really do this. Some days, that's really all you need.