Deal, banana peel

Image credit: dailygamesnews.com

Every creative person experiences a time when he or she can’t get inspired. Recently, I fell into one of these unfortunate ruts. The process of jumpstarting my inspiration made me think about what I do to motivate myself. I’m talking about the positive things—the goodies—that get me going. So, for the similarly stuck, here are my four goodies to help you get back in the good groove.

Goodie #1: I’m a designer—I get paid to do what I love. It’s the balance of intense thinking and aesthetic expression that I adore. But too often I’ve worked with colleagues who kick trashcans because the client chose the wrong logo, whose hair starts going gray around 27 because they can’t separate work from, well, anything else. While I feel their passion and drive, I can’t go there. Instead, I try to remind myself—on both good days and bad—how lucky I am to do what I do.

Goodie #2: Discovering and learning new things is stimulating and uplifting. Whether it’s renting a movie I never thought I would choose or researching ideas, people, or groups online, it’s empowering to be reminded of how much cool stuff is out there and how, for the most part, it’s right at your finger tips. For example, I find it incredibly inspiring to watch speakers from past TED conferences.

Goodie #3: Here’s a quote that I recently heard: “Worry is the darkroom that develops negatives.” This is so true. At the end of the day, the budget that your client pulled or your favorite campaign that wasn’t selected are small potatoes compared to some of the nonsense going on in the world today. I’m not saying get over yourself; rather, it’s about perspective—worrying about things at work that you can’t control is not good for your muse.

Goodie #4: My new favorite saying is, “deal, banana peel.” It makes me chuckle. The next time someone comes into your office, boo-hooing about silly office politics or a bad meeting, look them in the eye and say, “deal, banana peel.” Sometimes all you can do is laugh.

We want to hear about your goodies. Please share them in the comments.