Last weekend, I played the role of groomsman at my best friend’s wedding and had an amazing epiphany. You see, I wasn’t just any groomsman. I was a sharp-looking Marine in my Dress Blues. This wasn’t just any ordinary wedding, either. It was kind of a hybrid wedding – a cross between a garden style/outdoor setup and a prestigious Marine Corps-style wedding, sword arch and all. Yes, I held a sword. And it was awesome!
My buddy, the groom, another friend, a fellow groomsman, and I are all veterans that left the Corps in 2006. We all had moved to different states too. However, we all flew in for this one monumental occasion.
The morning after I returned home, I sat down to write and my mind was flooded with ideas. My subconscious had taken in a lot during the course of just a few days. I had thoughts and memories of Colorado scenery, dreadlocks, wedding and military references, multiple nutrition conversations, airport and plane observations, and even an entertaining torch juggler. That’s enough creative juice to last a while.
After the flood of ideas stopped, I had a realization. Before my trip, my writing had somewhat slowed down and started to become more mechanical. Now, it was given new life – reinvigorated if you will. All I had to do was parse (one of my favorite IT words) all of those ideas and organize them into useful tidbits that I could use now or later, whether it be in a book, blog post, short story, or some type of poetry.
What does this mean for you exactly? Well if you’re in a creative rut, or you’ve lost your mojo, or you’ve just become plain boring, you only have to do one thing to fix it. Get out and have fun! Try something new. Hang out with old friends. Go to Vegas. Have a beer with a buddy at work. Go rock climbing or even skydiving (trust me, even one time is well worth it!).
There are so many adventures and fun things to do out there. You just need to take a few minutes and explore your options, then find one and commit to it. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money and it doesn’t have to be elaborate. The key thing to remember is that you’re creating lasting memories of these experiences. This can help you in two major ways:
1. Gives you creative stories to write or talk about, whether directly or indirectly. Popular fiction readers appreciate these experiences just as much as the guy or girl sitting next to you at work. With enough of these, people will be dying to hear your stories, especially at work on Monday mornings. Plus, they make networking and relationship-building a lot easier.
2. Improves your mood. Just one powerful memory can have immense physiological effects on your attitude, demeanor, and state of mind. This, in turn, improves the quality of your work and your productivity, which can also increase profit. Whether you’re employed at McDonald’s or some high-rise executive, or even a celebrity photographer, we can all benefit in this area.
In closing, let me say that you don’t necessarily have to leave your house to do this. Sure, it definitely helps, but for some people, it’s just as easy to stay home and watch all the funny, crazy stuff that their children do. The point is that you’re not idly standing by bitching and moaning about why you’re stuck. Instead, you’re doing something about it. Having fun and creating powerful lasting memories… After all, that’s what life’s about, right?
Now that I’ve shared my “dress blues inspiration” what’s yours?
