Why Waiting to be Inspired is a Mistake (Plus Download Your Free Goal Setting Template)

Waiting to be inspired is a Mistake.

I wrote an article a few months ago about an activity intended to supplement inspiration. It was a kick-starter for your creative spark. A fun activity that I like to call “The Nostalgia Shot”. I use this from time to time when I’m going through a period in which I’m trying to kindle a sense of wonder. It’s true, I want to have inspiration. I want that awesome feeling. The kind you used to get when you were a kid while playing with your action figures or reading your favorite comic.

I have to highlight one word from above though. That word is ‘supplement’. First off (and I covered this in the original article) nostalgia is a fleeting thing. We also end up coloring our memory and making something better in our heads then it actually was. The idea is to feel that feeling again and then try to take it or apply it to something new. Take that childlike sense and go get inspired by something.

That said, there’s another misconception that I have to dispel. The idea that you have to have massive inspiration in order to do creative work. I was talking with a friend recently who told me that they wished they were able to write. They told me it was their passion and that life kept getting in the way. They told me they were waiting for that inspiration, blah blah blah blah.

I’m here to tell you that when your head starts spewing out that garbage, tell it to shut up. You want to know how you start writing again? Grab a pen and paper and start writing. Turn on your laptop and open up a text file. Blow dust off of your typewriter. Get out that stone slab and start chiseling. Whatever it is you have to do. ‘Nike’ that sucker and “Just do it”.

But you’re not inspired? Neither am I most of the time. I would venture to say from everything I’ve read that neither are most artists. That’s not to say that we don’t get inspired. That’s not to say that every once in a while you don’t still get on a hot streak where the gold flows. It does. The vast majority of the time I’m locked in the same grind as everyone else though. Kids, bills, financial anxiety, crazy workload, etc.

The thing is that you can’t sit around and wait for inspiration. Shoot, sometimes it’s even fruitless to go looking for it. One thing that is always true though is this: you can always get to work.

Much of the time inspiration is born out of the very work that you do as opposed to the other way around. A professional athlete is not always feeling hot about the sport he or she is playing. In order to stay on top though, they always show up to their workout.

Creativity and inspiration is as much about putting in the time as it is about the love of whatever it is you are doing. It’s about the craft-work. It’s about development. The story is about that grinding journey. In that soft gooey core which is not romanticized often, is where the inspiration is most often found. Every Rocky montage is several months of pain condensed into the inspirational 5 minutes that we see.

Newton got hit by an apple on his head. He then began churning out his paradigm shifting works on physics. If this story has truth to it we always focus on the cute inspirational part. We don’t talk about Newton spending years working through equations and experimenting. We don’t see him tired and sick and “not feeling” like doing his job on this day or that. The truth is in the grind.

I used writing as an example because it is an easy thing to rectify. It applies to anything though. Want to start exercising? Do it. Set aside a time and do it. Don’t wait for some incremental bull crap period of time. Oh I’ll do it after my birthday, this upcoming barbecue, New Years, etc.

Why are you doing it in the first place?

When deciding you’d like to do something in the first place though you should decide why. If you fail to meet a goal, you either chose a bad goal or clearly didn’t actually want to accomplish it.

Most goals are garbage. That’s a problem. If you pick better goals to start with you’re already moving in the right direction.

First ask yourself if you actually want whatever it is your goal is. If the answer is actually yes and not something you’re bringing up at a social gathering for points good. You have to do it for you. Yes it may be for your kids, or whomever, but the core has got to lead back to you. You have to be willing to do the work. So after you’ve said yes, it is something you want then ask why. Then ask why again and again until you’ve hit the root cause.

I want to be in shape.
Why?
So I’ll be stronger.
Why?
So I’ll be able to be a better fighter.
Why?
So that I can succeed as I fight crime in the streets at night (and so I fit in my Batsuit).
Why?
Because I’m angry at injustice.
Why?
Because my parents were murdered in front of me.

So using that very extreme Super Geek Life example we can see that we got down to the core of the why. If your core reason is garbage or superficial, you may still accomplish it but it will likely be fleeting.

What are better goals?

Good goals are things that you wish to achieve that are:

1. Possible

Don’t pick an impossible goal. I mean it. Don’t be nit picky here either. Of course it’s possible for you to write a hit series of sci-fi novels. But if you haven’t written 5 pages in the last 10 years maybe shoot lower first.

Of course it’s possible for you to learn those 7 languages you just entered in on Duolingo  but slow your roll, start with one course.

You want to be a professional race-car driver but can’t afford a Formula One car. Remember to start small with what you have. Goals that require you to get x before you can even start are bad goals.  Shoot lower and build the big stuff in your plan later. Can’t afford weights? Start with push-ups.

2. Measurable

I can say I’d like to be healthier, but what is my metric for this?  Does this mean losing x number of pounds? Is it lifting x amount of weight? Is it being able to run a certain distance or time (or distance in a certain time)? Or is it reducing blood pressure?

Every good artist, athlete, successful person I’ve read has subscribed to this. Mark Manson, Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins, Ryan Holiday, and a host of others all have work out there that is in line with this. Setting good measurable goals is key.

3. Incremental

Goals have to be incremental. This is especially true of the bigger goals. Have you ever seen a project plan? Project plans have one over arching end goal and several milestones leading up to the end goal. These milestones are mini-goals with their own set of measurable metrics.

For instance if your goal is to squat 500 pounds but can only do 200 right now. You will have to dedicate the time to doing X number of repetitions with X weight. You would then incrementally increase this over time until you gained strength.

This is easily measurable (I’m of course over simplifying).

If you want to run a marathon but haven’t ran a mile in years. Starting by walking several miles or minutes is perfectly fine too.

You set a period of time or some other meaningful metric at a possible and comfortable rate for yourself. Then at the end of your milestone period you reevaluate your progress and increase the load. Sometimes you may even decrease which is okay. The key is to continue forward momentum.

It is my personal recommendation that you start off where you know you can succeed. You want to write a book. Dedicate the time for a few weeks of writing for 5 minutes a day. Or 2 pages a day. Whatever feels right to you. If at the end of the week you find it was too easy, great, then increase. If it’s too much due to life, readjust and decrease.

Tim Ferriss’ book the “Four Hour Body” (along with the rest of his books) stresses the idea of the minimum effective dose (MED). This is the dose of whatever that is just enough for you to feel practiced, see progress, etc. in whatever your goal is. The interesting thing is that most of the time the dose is way less than we believe it is.

It really is that simple. That said, a good goal you will also have you putting dedicated time in your schedule for the task. I can hear the groans. But I don’t have time! You have 5 minutes. Once you dedicate the 5 minutes you’ll be surprised to find that you have 30 later on and then an hour. Time will become available to you if you make it important. Cut out what you don’t need.

Your goals should be project plans done like Agile Project Management.  You have your end goal, you have tasks that are accomplished so smaller mini-goals build up to the main one.  In set intervals you evaluate your progress and adjust accordingly. No need to beat yourself up. Adjust and keep the positive momentum going.

4. Meaningful

Ask your why’s to get to the root cause (as discussed just before this list). If the root cause is meaningful. Then you have to create a push pull system in order to help you to do the tasks required. What do I mean by push pull?  I mean (as stated by Tony Robbins) you need to create a vision of the future where you complete the goal.  The vision has to be so compelling that you really want it. You are drawn to it. Conversely, you have to create a pain point associated with not accomplishing the goal.  his has to be an unbearable thought. This combination of push and pull can only come to life with a great goal guiding it.

Ruler

You’ve got a good goal now?

Okay so you’ve got a great goal. You have asked why down to a great root cause. There is a large pain point. There is a compelling future vision. The minimum effective dose is established. You have measurable metrics by which to track your progress. There are set periods for evaluation to readjust. You’ve written it all down. There are great tools for this. You can invest in a special project management like journal. I recommend the Best Self Journal (Love their products). You can also write all of this down yourself using the above list.

Or you can download the PDF I’ve provided with this article to get you rolling.

Now you’ve got the plan and the idea and you’re feeling pumped up right now. Or maybe you aren’t. If you aren’t I actually prefer it. It means you’re more prepared for the reality that you’re going to have days where you don’t feel like doing it.

So pick a start day soon. Not some fantasy thing. In other words don’t use the “I’ll quit after I smoke my last pack gambit.” That’s not a real time. That’s a theoretical time in which you will buy another pack. I’m not going into the nuances of addiction as it is a complicated subject. Every goal has its equivalent of the “last pack syndrome” though.  Also there is no better time than now no matter what you think.

A famous story comes to mind. A grown man wants to play piano and mentions it. A few minutes later he exclaims to his friend “Ah never mind, this is stupid, do you know how old I’d be before I could play well?”

His friend (being a bit wiser) looked at him and said “the same age you’d be if you still didn’t know how to play piano.”

The key after that is to see it through, every day, whether you feel it or not.  See people are impatient. If something takes longer than a week in our fast food culture the attention wanes.  It is up to you to quiet the excuses and put in the work.

ADVICE FROM PAPA

Hemingway

Like Hemingway said: “Work every day. No matter what has happened the day or night before, get up and bite on the nail.”

Since I started with the example of writing and used a Hemingway quote I’ll also add two other good ones which are applicable to any other:

“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and blasting it out with charges.”

“There is nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed.”

*I’d like to note the humor in the fact that I’m writing this article in the Hemingway Editor. It is a great app intended to punch up your writing and fix glaring errors. The sentences as a result become far more ‘Hemingwayesque’ in that they are short and very active. While this makes the quotes fitting, I found it funny that they were each highlighted for several issues within the program.

Remember you might not have inspiration each day. Inspiration is temporary. Don’t sit and wait for it. You’ll find that often times the inspiration comes from doing the work itself. Just do it.

Remember to download your free goal setting template.