Finding Inspiration
At the beginning of this year, I took an entire month off of social media. I saw drastic improvements in my mental health and learned a lot about myself. That experiment taught me the importance of policing your timeline and setting boundaries around screen time. Don't get me wrong. I don't think that social media is a bad thing. I think it has great power. It can bring people from around the world together, and it can be a starting point for real change.
For many creatives, social media is a place to find inspiration, learn new techniques, and find collaborators. The problem is when social media becomes a creative block. It is hard not to get caught up in the never-ending noise of TikTok, Instagram, and more. Suppose you're not intentional with your social media use. In that case, you will find yourself chasing trends you don't connect with, comparing yourself to others' glorified online presence, and being overwhelmed with massive information overload.
If you let the fear of missing out (fomo) run the show, you'll get burned out by trying to be everywhere and be everything all of the time. I've found when you try to be everywhere. You end up nowhere.
How can you drown out the noise and rediscover your creative pulse? I believe a great place to start is to reframe your mindset surrounding social media use. Maybe you've heard about conscious buying, a.k.a. voting with your dollar. I first heard about conscious buying from the book "Earth is Hiring" by Peta Kelly. I highly recommend that book for anyone interested in entrepreneurship or creating more meaningful work.
Conscious buying has shaken corporations, and entire industries have shifted their practices to be more sustainable or ethical because of consumer influence. What if we considered using the same concept with social media? Using our pages and stories to vote for the messaging and caliber of creativity we want to see in the world. Companies pay for our viewership and interaction in the social sphere. We hold power to transform timelines from fear, comparison, and competition to empowered support and abundance.
It's 2021, and a scarcity mindset has no place here. When you operate from a place of lack, jealousy, or competition, you show just how insecure you are in your work. The internet has opened new doors all over the world. There are plenty of walls to paint, pictures to take, and opportunities to create. After my break from social media, I decided to use my platform to support artists and creators who don't have thousand-dollar advertising budgets, are underrated, or are underrepresented. Instead of letting lesser-known or local artists get buried, we should highlight their work. That is one of the main reasons I started this podcast. I wanted to draw attention to the brilliant creatives who inspire me, and I can't wait to share more of their perspectives in upcoming episodes.
You might be wondering what conscious sharing has to do with finding inspiration, but in my opinion, it has everything to do with inspiration. When we set up the media, we consume to be an environment of collaboration and support; We build communities that foster inspiration. You can't create great work with tunnel vision. Like it or not, you need the influence of others. The inspiration for my best work has always originated from the experiences from the relationships I built.
Outside of finding community, another great way to find inspiration is by changing up your patterns. I've found that I operate best with some structure or routine in my life. However, sometimes it can be helpful to break out of your norm and experiment. A few starting points that have inspired me in the past are going on a walk, a road trip, listening to music, or reading a book you wouldn't typically pick up. The key to this is to go into these activities with an open mind and no expectations. If you do these activities expecting a great idea, you'll stress yourself out. Sometimes finding inspiration is as easy as breaking out of a rut and having a bit of fun. Being constantly creative is exhausting and honestly unrealistic. Be sure to take time to show some self-compassion and fill up your energy tank.
I hope this article gave you a few new ideas on reframing your mindset about social media. I hope we can start using conscious sharing to create inspirational and supportive creative communities. Being constantly innovative and inspired is an unrealistic myth rooted in a constant need to be productive. This unrealistic expectation of ourselves can lead to burnout, and I hope you will take this article as a reminder to check in with yourself from time to time and take a break.
