Finding inspiration when you are down in the dumps

Finding inspiration when you are down in the dumps Journal Watercolors  self love positive thinking law of attraction injury recovery injury disney watercolor disney fan art cinderella books to read for motivation books to read for inspiration books for artists artist blog artist

Oops I did it again.

I injured myself. A painful, terrible injury in my lower back and hip. Injuries are no biggie until it makes it so I cant create. Editing, painting, drawing…. all things that really revolved a desk. Poof! Gone.

When you can’t create how do you stay inspired? How do you get excited about your days when the very thing that you live for is gone?  Rather than just focusing on how much pain you are in and wallowing in depression?

Well… sometimes you just don’t.

I am sure you were expecting something else. But I have a point, I promise you.

Sometimes you just give in to the fact that you are in pain. You accept it. You cry it out. You feel like punching the wall because you are so frustrated that you are basically confined to a couch.  The the only way you can do what you love is by laying paints out on your bed and hurting your knees while you try to paint as you use your bed as a kneeling desk. And that then hurts you so damn much you have to quit as well.

Your energy is in the wrong place. Your energy needs to be on loving your body and healing it.   

Always choose the path of least resistance. In this case – rather than focusing on the fact that you cannot create or be inspired, distract yourself from it. Stop focusing on your lack. What can you possibly do while being unable to create all the art going on in your head?

Once I got out of my own damn way and started focusing on healing, I figured out a few things to really help me keep inspired and excited.  But damn, I really needed to get through my self-loathing, I hate everything bull crap. Just feel the feelings and let that shit go.

  1. Read. Read. READ.
    I needed a distraction while I was hurt. So I loaded up several books on my kindle that kept the inspiration going. Gave me the hope that in the end of this awful injury that it was going to be ok. That I wasn’t running out of life and time to make the art I wanted.Most of these are memoirs or inspirational books. It really helped me look forward to applying what I learned in these books to my life once I was all healed and ready.
    A few books that really helped me include :
    Declutter your mind
    Never Broken : Songs are only half the story
    The 5 Love languages
    The Tao of Willie
    You are a Badass
  2. Keep a journal of things you want to create.

    Excitement is what kept me from going insane. It’s what keeps most people from mulling over in their heads all the things that are upsetting them. So I carried a little notebook with me.  Each time I had the urge to paint and had this incredible idea, I wrote it down. New blog idea? Write it down. New business venture? I took the time to write a business plan.

    Now that I am healed I have all these incredible plans to start tackling. They are what kept me from going insane when bedridden!

  3. Be grateful for every moment that the pain is gone.

    This is one of the harder things that I had to force myself to do. Each time I noticed that my back and hip were in no pain whatsoever, I told myself how grateful I was to be in a pain-free body.  I would literally take a deep breath in and feel gratitude for the fact my body was giving me a damn break from feeling like shit.  It really is true the things that you feel gratitude towards, you get more of. So get to being damn grateful.

  4.  Watch Disney movies.

    It makes everyone feel better.

  5. Take time to reflect and write to people you’ve been meaning to for years.

    Remember that family member you have been too busy to check in on? Call them.
    Remember all of those business contacts that you have been too busy to email (you can do it from your phone, people!) to remind them that you exist? Email them. Remind them of your existence and they will remember how awesome you are. Trade ideas. Prep for building an empire.
    How about that friend that you had a messy break up with years ago? Take time to reflect on if you miss them or not. What did you do wrong? What great things did they bring to your life? Send them a message to put out that olive branch. Forgiveness and love feel great for the soul.


We are dealt our blows to learn a lesson. Sometimes the lesson is that you need to sit the hell down and observe more. Thanks, back injury. I’ve achieved a lot in this time that you’ve made me artistically useless.


Stay inspired. xo


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