What Gets Your Juices Flowing?

According to the Encarta Dictionary (on the sidebar of my computer’s Microsoft Word program), motivation means:

1. giving of reason to act: the act of giving somebody a reason or incentive to do something

2. enthusiasm: a feeling of enthusiasm, interest, or commitment that makes somebody want to do something, or something that causes such a feeling

3. reason: a reason for doing something or behaving in a particular way

4. forces determining behavior: [psychology] the biological, emotional, cognitive, or social forces that activate and direct behavior

So, what motivates you… what gets your creative juices flowing? There are plenty of things that do it for people whether consciously or unconsciously. Music, for example, gets me going. Popping in Jack Johnson, Nora Jones, Michael Buble or Tori Amos creates that living-room-movie-scene where the main character (me) is puttering around straightening up, preparing to sit and write or paint. Hearing Jack’s strumming to his lyrical stories or Tori’s piano underneath those autobiographical stanzas inspire me to sit and create my own stories.

Motivation is the cousin of inspiration. There is something in someone else’s art that pushes others to create. I’m not talking about mimicking or copycatting here although experimenting with someone else’s technique as practice is fair game. What I am speaking of are those triggers that set you off in the creative direction. It could be anything: a good book, an enticing meal you saw on the Food Network or that special someone in your life.

Consider this an invitation to crack open your journal and jot down what motivates you. Make a list and, if you’re coincidentally feeling motivated, briefly outline why those particular things on your list get your creative juices flowing.

For more on motivation, check out this article from Psychology Today:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20021117-000001.html

Creatively yours,

Dawn.