There are times when I don’t feel inspired at all, do you know what I do? I procrastinate. Yep, There. I said it. I prefer to look at procrastination sometimes as a positive action. My mind telling me, that I am not ready yet. I stall until inspiration strikes. I don’t put on the TV or read fiction while I am stalling. I go do something constructive, and oftentimes, practical.

For me, inspiration strikes unexpectedly and often while I am doing the most mundane things. It makes total sense, when I am feeling uninspired, to go do something mundane. Here are some of the things I do that give me inspiration. Feel free to laugh, I do. I sweep the floor, I do dishes, I wash and fold clothes, I walk outside, I listen to music without words. I take a quick drive in the car; I have a coffee.

I sometimes wander through the bookstore. I allow myself to step away from the process, and just go do something that is mindless.

Eventually, my thoughts always turn towards whatever it is that I was hoping to focus on. I just finished folding clothes before I sat down to write this. I had an idea beforehand about what I wanted to say but stopping to clear my head for a little while helped me crystallize my thoughts and gave me added inspiration.

Let’s call it “constructive procrastination”. I didn’t run away from doing something that I have this burning desire to do, I just let it alone for a little bit till it felt right. And somedays, my place ends up getting really clean.

Another technique I use that helps me find inspiration is to sit quietly alone and be honest with myself about what I am trying to do, and why I want to do it. I need to get down to the bare bones of why I feel compelled to do it. I really dig in deep at this point, and for every question I answer, I follow it up and ask why, again and again until I end up with an emotional response that moves me. The trick here is to be truthful. If I give a response that isn’t, my body knows it, and calls BS! I remind myself that I am not sharing my answers with anyone else but me, only me. No one else needs to know my thoughts. Sometimes, it may be something that seems selfish, but isn’t it good to know that as well? If it’s selfish in nature that might be why you aren’t feeling inspired. Once you know that, you can make a minor adjustment to your thought process and give it new meaning.

Asking why over and over again reminds me of a how my kids would keep asking me about things they didn’t understand. They would exhaust me and question every answer I gave them until they were satisfied. Get it? Until they were satisfied. So, ask until you are satisfied.

Those methods have been working for me, so I invite you to give it a try next time you feel uninspired or “stuck”. Come back and share your experience, you may end up helping someone else get “unstuck”!