In the previous article (this one), I explained the difference between expressing oneself and business. That made me consider the relationship between creation and inspiration. Let’s discuss it.
How to handle motivation
Sometimes, we want to manage motivation, especially when creating something. It provides energy and excitement.
That often makes us pursue inspiration. We often believe that it helps our creations.
However, motivation is something we cannot control. It can rise unintentionally, and it can also fall.
That is why we need to understand the mental system of motivation. That enables us to make the most of our bodies.
To recognize the mental system of motivation, I will explain the difference between creation and inspiration. It might help you find motivation.
Inspiration vs. creation
In creation, making new logical combinations excites us. In other words, creation is an activity that we find enjoyable when we think about it logically.
Creation contains inspiration. The difference between creation and inspiration is as follows:
- Inspiration is an idea that clarifies the previously unclear relationships.
- Creation is an activity of combining simplified ideas and making something that is logically coherent and efficient overall.
The stages of creation
Creative activities involve the following processes:
- Principle recognition stage: We understand the relationships of things properly. Discovering a new principle is called inspiration. It triggers new logical possibilities.
- Hypothesis stage (one of the expressing stages): We predict the outcomes of our activities based on principles.
- Verification stage (one of the expressing stages): We verify whether the prediction is correct.
- The feedback stage: If we succeed, we will rely on that principle. That enriches us. If it failed, we let go of that principle and consider another one.
We call the hypothesis and verification stage the expression stage. In other words, expression is about hypothesis and verification.
The whole is a creative activity.
The reason for the decline in motivation
That shows us why we lose motivation quickly, even if inspiration stimulates us.
One typical example is just trying to copy inspiration.
For example, suppose we got excited learning about the combination of protagonist and heroine in a story. We realized that it was to our liking.
For another example, assume we came across an emotional scene while watching a movie. We learned that the reunion scene with lovers pairs well with beautiful piano music.
They are examples of the inspiring process. We identified a distinct relationship among those that were previously ambiguous. In other words, we discovered the new principles of success in story and musical direction. That excites us.
How to succeed in creation
However, if we try to create a story or movie similar to the original ones, our motivation quickly falls. This is because there are no elements to express.
Expression requires hypothesis and verification. It means it demands something whose outcome is unknown.
For example, when we have realized a favorite character coupling, certain situations make them unable to end up together. In a situation where they are truly being separated, even we creators don’t know how to reunite them. That makes us introduce new elements in the story and see if they work. That prediction drives us to write the whole story and verify the outcome.
Although we design and predict the conclusion of the story, we enjoy writing it just like the readers do.
Creation is not about making similar products. Inspiration is just understanding a situation. Creation requires something whose outcome is uncertain but logically predictable.
The same goes for the music direction. Instead of creating a similar scene, we use it for scenes where it is uncertain if the beautiful piano music will work well.
Such a hypothesis and its verification process become an expression that motivates us.
In other words, we want to discover new possibilities through expression. It is logically challenging. Telling what we already know clearly is neither creation nor logical activity.
Conclusion
That is the mental system of motivation.
The difference between creation and inspiration shows us how to treat inspiration efficiently.
That logic might help you create motivation.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
