The Research-Backed Secrets to Getting Inspired

[@subnatural5341]

From my personal experience: I get inspired more often when there is something else that I should _really_ be working on.

[@ThrottleKitty]

"Thrash and Elliot" sound like a wrestling duo.

[@frostyw]

Throttle Kitty or a pub

[@WitchVulgar]

Or a musical duo

[@games68775]

Motivation/inspiration comes from doing. There's a certain activation energy required to get going, but once you do, you enter an entirely different world and headspace that is very good.

[@qigongforeveryone8268]

My summary notes on the video The Three Qualities of Inspiration Evocation - Inspiration comes about spontaneously not by conscious control Approach Motivation - the feeling/emotion that you MUST make this thing happen Transcendence - a sense of clarity, single mindedness and purpose. You can Be inspired by something - you appreciate it the value of an inspirational thing Be inspired to do something - motivated to extend that value to yourself, you work, the world Both if you are really really inspired When people are inspired they are more satisfied creative and productive How do you make inspiration happen? While you can’t make it happen “evocation” there are certain qualities that can make it more likely to occur. Openness to experience - accepting of what comes rather than trying to control possibilities Not driven by external rewards - but rather internally rewarding in and of itself - being inspired by the inspiration itself - inspiration it its own reward WORK MASTERY - well developed skills - get good at what you do Competitiveness and Fear - make inspiration less likely You can’t exactly make Inspiration happen but there are things that make it more likely to happen Don’t pressure yourself - remember inspiration arises spontaneously - conscious control will interfere Cultivate optimism Cultivate self-esteem Do something related to the action at hand (what you will do) - it stimulates more ideas Work on your skills - that may be hard work and not necessarily inspirational but they will allow you to do more with your inspiration. Takeaways: Take time to develop your skills And optimism And self-worth.. Esteem.. Compassion Be open to what happens Don’t try to control everything that happens, how it happens, what to do to make it happen, when it will happen, the circumstances of it happening etc.

[@Toastmaster_5000]

As someone who regularly gets inspired to make new things, I totally agree with everything in this video. Though, there is 1 key point that it didn't bring up that I find especially important: Being knowledgeable of many different subjects. The more diversity you have in what you know, the more likely your inspirations can flow into something great, or at least comprehensive. I like to make machines, but I get a lot of my inspiration from nature, whether that be how it moves, how it "thinks", or what it should be made of. I like to take known working systems and find out a way to "exploit" them in a way that makes them better or useful in a way they were never intended.

[@jamiewilson2550]

Peter Schmidt I love that, it’s super cool that you’re inspired by nature to create machines! Absolutely fantastic, ilI’d love to hear more about it. My creative ideas mainly consist of clothing/accessories and interior design-pretty boring compared to yours, ngl ;)!! I love knowing how to do lots of different subjects as well! I completely agree about it adding so much to creativity!

[@Toastmaster_5000]

​@@jamiewilson2550 No form of creativity is inferior if it succeeds in what it sets out to do. Even clothing can be inspired by nature, though, I wouldn't take the "decorator crab" for guidance lol. On the other hand, you could probably take inspiration from the bower bird for interior design. Anyway, my current project with a little inspiration from nature is a robotic foosball table. There are 3 processors involved, which function much like the nervous system of a really primitive brain. There's the "spine", which controls the motors, and senses what the rods are doing, but it has no mind of its own. It can't make decisions and it doesn't know why it does what it does, it just knows it has to. So, much like a frog or a chicken, you can cut the head off and it'll still maintain balance and keep the vitals going, but it doesn't know what it's doing anymore and can't figure out how to feed itself. Then there's the "occiptal lobe", which reads data from a camera so the robot can see the ball. This then talks to the "frontal lobe", which figures out where the ball is moving and how to respond to it (by sending the instructions to the spine). Much like a real brain, you can sever the connections between these parts and they'll still kinda function, but you don't really get anything interesting until you connect them all.

[@amicableenmity9820]

Exactly why it's a good idea to read a lot and just be interested in everything in general. Ask questions of people, go places you normally wouldn't go. Pay attention to things.

[@darkmage07070777]

Ah, perfect; the personality traits that create inspiration are the exact opposite of my personality. *sigh*

[@Hayden_Cat]

This is a year old but I’m an infp and inspiration is so hard

[@shade5649]

Same lol

[@WitchVulgar]

Develop your skills... Here comes the Great Courses Plus advertisement

[@AngryKittens]

Inspirational segue!

[@thecheeseclubvp]

I almost navigated away from the video at that point, thinking we were in for a 2 minute ad. How much do these incessant sponsors pay one time to make a video annoying forever? There should be a patron pledge for this amount, "Keep a video ad-free for everyone, forever." Except there was still a pre-video ad anyway! I'd rather listen to the announcers narrate the script on a computer mic over a black screen than have to hear about skill share or brilliant one more time.

[@TylerOstergaard]

you heard it here folks "Git Gud" :P

[@maxattack2352]

I'm 35 been doing work that really didn't interest me, got pretty depressed but now I'm studying as chef and it's like the whole world has opened, I can actually do hard labor and be inspired about it :D makes it feel like a walk in the park even thought all the hurry and heat etc...

[@troxexlot18]

Curiosity, inspiration, intrinsic motivation

[@namhur8966]

Small detail, but I like that you say "Be in a good headspace" instead of "Be positive". It acknowledge s that positivity is not an everyday state and something you can just force :)

[@eriksuvak8238]

This does inspire me to get inspired thank

[@N3ur0m4nc3r]

you* So inspired they went afk b4 finishing...

[@acousticpsychosis]

I find its generally easy to get inspired...if I want to draw, Peter Draws inspires me to do so, if I want to write a song, a good musician will do the same. Less frequently, I somehow manage to inspire myself, but it always results in something better than if I try to force myself to do something.

[@furatceylan8]

this reminds me of some of the research on expertise and professional learning. the instrinsic motivation is such an important part for learning in general, inspiration never crossed my mind for its importance. thanks for this nice little nugget!

[@kariscoyne1886]

Comments: I N S I N S P I R E D

[@isaacthek]

Thrash and Elliott sounds like a morning radio duo.

[@krymsynrayne]

Scishow, I've got a question! Why don't we sneeze when we sleep?

[@abubacar]

Grey Aria you do sneeze when you sleep, you just don’t stay conscious long enough to remember. My girlfriend sneezes more in her sleep than when she is awake.

[@aquamarine3699]

And during REM sleep, our bodies experience atonia, which means our bodies are essentially paralyzed. According to scienceillustrated: "the motor neurons are not being stimulated, so they aren’t sending these signals to the brain. In some cases, sufficient external stimulates will trigger the need to sneeze. But you will wake up to do so."

[@TheSealMayor]

the government comes into your room and bottles our sneezes so the CDC can clone your nose gunk and make a doppleganger of you

[@elenagibbons4719]

So essentially, yet another way my anxiety is holding me back. Wonderful!

[@evaristegalois6282]

Lvl 1 Inspired Lvl 100 Insinspired

[@jayatherton8673]

+

[@ZoidbergForPresident]

:D

[@dfgchjhkbnl]

Just head on down to Cauldron Lake right near Bright Falls. A nice relaxing getaway and great for poets, writers, and artists!

[@michaelklos3933]

This is why I always carried a bag with my drawings and more books to write in, listening to music and interacting or being around people helped inspire...

[@abubacar]

I’m hoping that all this talk of inspiration is inspiring Hank to write “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing 2”.

[@eat-study]

openness to experience rather than to control it 1. dont pressure yourself 2. get in the good head space (optimism and self esteem) 3. do something else 4. develoo skill

[@jauxro]

I find that being exposed to new ideas is pretty helpful towards being inspired! And it doesn't have to be "wow, I learned about a concept that was totally alien to me!" - sometimes learning the ins and outs of a process is more inspiring than one might expect! Just yesterday I watched a video about a guy making a terrarium inside of an aquarium and was inspired to come up with 31 ideas for terrarium / aquarium related projects.

[@danielrhouck]

I know that SciShow doesn't use the "Start a sentence which seems like part of the content and then becomes a sponsor" sort of transitions (thank you!), but even still when you said at 5:20 when you say "Finally, it's probably worth developing your skills, too." I couldn't help but expect a SkillShare or Brilliant ad.

[@danielrhouck]

... And then you do that sort of transition anyway, proving me wrong. Still not as bad as some other channels do it.

[@ogorangeduck]

This insinspires me

[@MikhaelAhava]

Sure it does.

[@aagantuk7370]

Where did this come from

[@jakesimm5889]

.

[@jpe1]

Inuvik typo on the video thumbnail

[@Radical1777]

I am now insinspired

[@MikhaelAhava]

Oh cool.

[@waffleyoshi5254]

Sameeeee

[@thinkabout288]

i'm onfired MiguelPpM I like your pick.

[@ghostnoodle9721]

No regerts

[@phoebesulistio6830]

Great, maybe you can stop recommending TOP KEKKEST PRO MLG PLAYS OF ALL TIME because I clicked on an Overwatch let's play that one time?

[@EdwardThimbleHands]

3:57, a family member or friend talking to someone obsessed over a project: "you've been working on this for weeks and you've gotten almost no rest or eaten anything. Please take a break." Person they are talking to thinks: Get good at what you do and haters gonna hate, don't listen to them...

[@hhughes9465]

Hank, thank you for existing; you're one of the people that inspire me

[@evitare8714]

“Getting insinspired” Love it

[@juliemignard8448]

Thanks, you answered a question I've had for years. I paint, and people sometimes ask me where I get my inspiration. I don't know what to say to that. What does inspiration mean? Since I don't know, I figured I didn't need it. But! Now I have heard the definition, I do have it every day. But, I still don't know where it comes from. I guess, inside the paint somewhere?

[@KingaZajacNNR]

just the other day I thought how I get inspired by you, Hank, Rosianna and Ariel Bissett. I can watch your stuff all the time.

[@Ghosteriz]

Creativity = preparing a new idea Inspiration = make it double

[@davidbuschhorn6539]

A great way to get inspired is to turn your TV off. I owe a lot of my writing to the fact that Discovery and The History Channel stopped running science and history shows. Reality shows blow, so I started writing. When you get in your car for a trip, turn the radio off. All it does is distract your brain so you can't think about the project you want to do.

[@mkmasterthreesixfive]

Or someone could mention something related to a thing you're working on that you didn't think of on the radio which is precisely what you needed to hear in order to make 1+1=2, and now you've never made the connection because you were busy watching a bird poop on a fern.

[@davidbuschhorn6539]

@@mkmasterthreesixfive When I drove a truck on Fridays I had 16 hours of time to write books in my head :) I got back at about midnight on Friday with two days of writing to get out of my brain. It was awesome. As much as I hated the discomfort of the truck (no headrests, minimal heat/AC, deafening noise and it was as bouncy as a powerboat in choppy waters), I looked forward to the drive for how much work I could get done.

[@lefta1000]

I'm so insinspired by this video!!!

[@jasminelarsonion8400]

Stay awesome Hank!!

[@os44881616]

Best video I've seen lately

[@kimbratton9620]

I'm always inspired!!😃😀

[@eddybaro7170]

This video was very inspiring

[@roman-vv5xz]

I don't if it's contradictory to "Get in a good head space", but I was writing music for a while and I was more creative when I was depressed and could express that feeling with my music. For me at least, it's way easier to write sad songs than happy ones, but this might also be due to my general taste in music.

[@thepoppyman844]

Wow, that was... Inspiring.

[@walkitoff.]

Great Advice hank!

[@starspawn507]

"if you're feeling down, it's harder to get inspired" guess i'll die

[@heidi64freedom]

It kinda captures just how I feel watching some of these videos

[@chillenld]

Any citation for the 2019 study on creativity? Defending my thesis on computational creativity enhancement through word associations in a month or so and that would be an awesome read :)

[@peebz-342]

Getting inspired or doing what you need to might be hard- but isn’t it being hard the fun part about it? It’s a challenge!! If it was easy you’d get easily bored of it wouldn’t you?

[@kitty_gamer23]

poor guy almost named trash ;-;

[@notsoclearsky]

I bet he got bullied in school.

[@phoebesulistio6830]

Instead he was named THRASH, the most badass of all verbs

[@HojozVideos]

I'm frequently inspired at night or other times that I can't put it to use, and then demotivated when I can do that stuff I dreamt up.

[@SuviTuuliAllan]

5:19 was expecting a skillshare ad

[@charles4112]

We all love those smooth sponsor transitions, Hank. Need some inspiration for some?

[@ryantwombly720]

“It is the effort to think that paralyzes the mind.” - Baroness Orczy, possibly a paraphrase, as I recall it from an adaptation of a Teahouse Detective story

[@infinightmoon6268]

3:30 That lightbulb seems strangely phallic...

[@TankEpidemic]

"...Optimism and self esteem." Welp, we're back at square one.

[@alltimezephanie]

TankEpidemic *same bro*

[@neegas3490]

😥

[@sebastianelytron8450]

My inspiration is common people, everyday folk. People with freakish abilities, natural-born talent, one-in-a-million types, etc. really don't inspire me at all. Anyone else?

[@HerbaMachina]

@Alison Sanches Krinski by natural born talent I believe he's talking about the people that just pick up a task with no prior knowledge and do amazing at it.

[@jauxro]

What do they inspire you to do?

[@kheammachart]

@Alison Sanches Krinski There is a natural born talent. Have you ever met someone who learn so fast and get good at it without trying? Natural born talent means to learn something faster than someone within the same period of time. If you don't believe in natural born talent, then do you believe in natural born disable?

[@lnsflare1]

@@jauxro That is the rather worrying question that this comment evoked in me, as well.

[@HerbaMachina]

@Alison Sanches Krinski well you should believe it lol because I'm one of those people, I haven't come across anything I couldn't pick up incredibly quickly, in fact I pick things up so fast sometimes it actually annoys people sometimes lol

[@t.b.m.5718]

This video inspired me!

[@colleen_99]

If inspiration is less likely to occur when you're feeling down as well as when you have low self-esteem and a negative outlook, then how come there are so many so-called "tortured artists" and creators of the like? Does it have to do with high levels of neuroticism? Sorry if you answered the question before the end of the video. I was feeling pretty inspired to write this before I forgot the thought :)

[@satoshi1288]

Haha I will watch this video every week to remind myself.

[@Sgt-Gravy]

So is inspiration seeing a need or filling a need?

[@ironpulcinella3586]

So pressure for come up with something for gains is what has me in a rut feeling burned out?

[@CommodoreFluffy]

this sounds so close to the video on flow state.

[@roccocroce]

Thrash and Elliot sounds like a 90’s platformer

[@LoneWolf343]

Irony is how long I left this tab open while I got around to watch it.

[@frotwithdanger]

5:39 Do more creative people adlib like a boss?

[@wabisabi3343]

Please do a video about the 2018 Metastudy on the placebo effect!

[@thisaccountisdead9060]

I can see fish moving through walls. They're all going in the same direction. In straight lines. And none too fast. And they're all telling me - I'm doing a great job.

[@gravijta936]

Behind the scenes: Hank Green presents in front of a green screen.

[@HAngeli]

Quite interesting!

[@internetstranger3686]

Quite insinspiring!

[@SkyRocket159]

As a music producer I can relate too much.

[@Oradification]

Can you confirm/debunk NLP?

[@bulldogmadhav5762]

You should make a video about whether psychoanalysis is empirically provable or if it’s a pseudoscience

[@nonsuch]

You can't manufacture inspiratdo, it comes from a moment of stillness and quietude.

[@TaterKakez]

Yo. Can I get Hank on repeat in my brain 🧠 saying “haters gonna hate,” when I feel anxious? Please & Thank you :)

[@jarencascino7604]

You should do a whole episode on why it’s so easy to read insinspired and not even realize.

[@lazyperfectionist1]

I find, when it comes to being creative, the word processor is just about the _worst_ place to begin. There's _efficient_ composition (essays, reports, term papers and such) and _creative_ composition (stories, poems and such), and a word processor is good for the _first_ of these, but with the _second,_ one will run into writer's block _constantly._ If you want to write something _creative,_ it's much better to begin with pen and paper, and once you've got it down, transcribe it.

[@dominikdobrotic8298]

"Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."

[@electronresonator8882]

LOL ...Todd Thrash is like name of a person from Bethesda

[@checkoutthatthing]

I just meander around the house for hrs with no idea what to do, is that weird?

[@Gothic_Analogue]

Tophamatic isn’t that procrastination?

[@Forty2de]

Is there a chance you guys can turn down the volume in your videos by maybe 15%? The intro music is often particularly loud but all your videos tend to be a fair bit louder than the average KZbin video. Something tells me 15% would be perfect

[@coltykuu]

You should still watch the video but here are the cliff notes 1. Do something else that is similar to the task at hand 2. Master your craft

[@brandonkelley6500]

People who like inspiration, check out: Lewis Howes and Tom Bilyeu's channels. To mention specific speakers: Mel Robbins, Tony Robbins (unrelated), Jim Rohn, Earl Nightingale, Zig Ziglar. Learn, Grow, Take charge and change the world!

[@ericadrueF]

Why does the quality look like it was filmed in my childhood

[@HyperionaSilverleaf]

Thrash and Elliott sounds like a Teen Nick or Disney XD series.

[@stevelk1329]

Good content as usual. Gcp looks good but comes on too strong with cost and requirements.

[@lukewarmlava2083]

My problem with these video learning services is that they are very VERY rarely autism/aspergers friendly. It's incredibly difficult to find anything online that is both helpful in nature and is formatted in a way that is easy to understand.

[@adventureswithfrodo2721]

In our modern day inspiration is money.....

[@ynotbme48]

I'm inspired, do a video about autism/Aspergers syndrome disorder in adults.

[@miriam7872]

Getting inspiration is simple. You have to earn it with good roleplay and your DM will reward you!

[@MikhaelAhava]

Inspired to die and kill? Happens in this chaotic world, good and bad sides occur.

[@nataliarodriguez3740]

Mania!

[@hardrocker498]

The search for insperado

[@IceMetalPunk]

So my biggest blockers to inspiration, then, are fear of failure and having depression. Woo, yay brains. **EDIT** On second read, by "fear of failure", for me it's more a "fear that I have no idea what I'm doing or what others expect me to know how to do". So, a bit more existential dread than stage fright.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Caveat here, because I may be just a tad reckless... BUT I wouldn't let that existential dread scare me... The truth (as I've come to see it) is that nobody really has any idea what they're doing either. A smarter man than me has written that people tend to advance to their level of incompetence, which is apparently why everything in the world is at least a little bit "sh*t"... SO maybe the take away should be "Why try to force yourself to be so much better?" Instead, perhaps it's sufficient to research the issues you seem to have (the tangible ones) and then experiment and practice at the skills you probably need in order to resolve them, based somewhat on the research results... Somewhere (probably when you're not so busy looking for it) Inspiration will show up, and you can follow your instincts and skills to fulfill it. You may not even think about it at the time, and IF (notice the big "if" there) you're ever accused of being a genius, HAVE THE GOOD SENSE TO SHUT UP AND ENJOY IT! ;o)

[@Porkey_Minch]

But what if you have no motivation to get anything done in the first place?

[@internetstranger3686]

*insinspired*

[@TheReZisTLust]

* *ding* *

[@Ricardowieringa]

Internet Stranger how does king crimson work?

[@internetstranger3686]

@@Ricardowieringa it just works

[@aliasanonym9778]

Triggering inspire is really easy guys. You just have to use your 2 Mana Hero Power while a minion with a blue flag is on the board.

[@musclehank6067]

Eureka!

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Um... Good video and all, Hank! BUT this doesn't explain why ALL my greatest inspiration happens when I'm on the "pot". ;o)

[@FilipePhoenix]

The bullies must have talked thrash about that guy until college.

[@NewMessage]

It's not getting inspired that I have trouble with, it's convincing my 'get up and go' to 'come here and sit down'.

[@Marionette_Doll]

Inspiration and Flow sound like they're two sides of the same coin based on what this research has mentioned.

[@INAVACL]

Funny enough, i look at art on pinterest and get inspired xD

[@lindseyschiro6668]

Neo Chen hey me too!