A Little Warning About Inspiration Obsession

It’s a subtle line that one has to toe when creating any type of content online. It’s the need to be active in order to stay relevant and build connections. However, sometimes you must stay away to keep your ideas fresh and to listen to your own inner voice. 

A Little Warning About Inspiration Obsession

I was stuck in between these two places for the last couple of months and one project magnified that situation for me recently. Let me share a little warning about inspiration obsession.

Feeling stuck

Desperate to feel creative, I searched around for a project to occupy my time. Enter my shoe closet. It was time to purge some of my old pairs of shoes. So, I took this as a sign to do something interesting with the space to become “unstuck.”

Inspiration wanted

I tried to paint a small leopard print pattern on the walls for an unexpected look. Needless to say, it was an EPIC FAIL! As a result, I browsed the many gallons of paint in our garage to see which one had enough paint for the shoe closet.

I then stumbled upon an old friend – a stylish gray blue paint that I used in our previous rental. It looked good in our old house, so I knew I liked the color enough.

So, I dove in.

Painting

With my favorite YouTube videos in queue, I started painting. I painted all day in this tight space sweating like a stuffed pig. I painted from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and then the next day I painted again. 

Three and a half days and two and a half coats later, that slate gray turned into navy blue in the small closet. That’s the power of lighting!

Pivoting and spiraling

I totally forgot this paint has a flat sheen. Therefore, I would need to go over each shelf where the shoes would sit with at least two coats of polyurethane. Nevertheless, the paint needed to fully cure before doing so. So, my great idea of starting and ending a quick project dashed. 

Panicked, I began to scour Google and Pinterest small closets and shoe closets ideas. None of the things I saw captured my attention in a way that I felt was applicable to my situation or aesthetic. I even searched Instagram. All of this sparked my self doubt of the validity of my ideas. Suddenly, I needed to unplugged from consuming content.

The real problem

Through all of this I realize what my problem was: I was not listening to myself. I was the one who started the project, I was the person whose shoes were to go in this closet. Why was I letting doubt creep into my mind?

Inspiration overload

What does this mean? I think that I am like anyone else. It’s helpful to see other projects to get ideas. However, at some point, there is such a thing as too much information. You got to know when to step away from the noise of other people’s projects and listen to yourself. 

As you may know, I delete Instagram when I’m feeling any type of negative emotions such as jealousy or overwhelm. This time, I even deleted Pinterest. 

In conclusion

In my time away, did I finish my shoe closet immediately? Absolutely not! I still had shoes all over my house. But, it felt good being away and not overloading my brain with too much inspiration. It helped me gear up for the One Room Challenge. This is a little warning about inspiration obsession: know when to disengage.