Does inspiration ever strike at times when you are unable to write it down—like while driving or in the middle of a task? It can be frustrating if you don’t want to lose an idea, but hyper focusing on that can end up causing you to forget pieces of it.
Here are 4 practical ways to boost your creative memory and better recall inspiration in moments when you are unable to write it down.
1. Remember keywords
If you have several different ideas, summarize each one with a word or short phrase, similar to a bullet list. Repeat the keywords in your head until you are able to expand on your ideas.
For example, when I thought of the initial concept for this blog post Walk in the Light, I repeated the words baggage, surrender, and arise until I had resources available to elaborate further.
Utilizing keywords is an effective way to quickly summarize concepts and strengthen your memory networks to retain inspiration.
2. Let go of perfection
The pressure to remember something verbatim can often prevent our brains from holding on to the main message itself.
Instead of fixating on the exact wording of an idea, stick to just a few words and the overarching theme. Once you get to a space where you can jot everything down, then allow yourself to think more freely and brain dump whatever else comes to mind.
Most often, you’ll be surprised that you can recall the very same thoughts again, if not more!
3. Place it in God’s hands
Find peace in the fact that if God wants to use you as a vessel—to write a particular message or create a particular work—He’s not going to give you a preview of it, just to leave you hanging or figure out the rest by yourself.
When you focus less on trying to reconstruct ideas, and more on Christ and what He placed on your heart to create, inspiration will find you in increasing waves.
4. Pray for intercession
St. Anthony of Padua is patron of lost or stolen items. Traditionally, he’s not associated with creativity, but lost things can include ideas and concepts too!
Pray this simple prayer:
“St. Anthony St. Anthony, please look around. Something’s been lost and it cannot be found.”
When used with the keyword exercise, this prayer can help you to regain lost inspiration and better elaborate on ideas after they first strike.
You can also expand the prayer by asking in advance when ideas first start to form:
“St. Anthony St. Anthony, please look around. I’m worried something might become lost and unable to be found.”
After successfully finding lost things, this simple practice cultivated a kinship with St. Anthony. Overtime, the prayer shortened to just calling on his name, then when lost ideas were recalled, a simple “thank you Tony!”
Intercessory prayers don’t need to be formal or worded a certain way. We can have respect for saints and the trials they underwent for Christ, while still expressing prayers in a personal, lighthearted way.
Asking for Aid
Calling on St. Anthony for help with creative inspiration doesn’t come before or take the place of God. All power and inspiration is derived from God, our true source, because He alone is sovereign.
If you’re not familiar with the role of saints or have never asked for intercession before, it’s similar to asking a friend to pray for you. You’re not placing your trust in others, simply asking a fellow believer to go to God on your behalf.
When practiced with pure intentions and childlike faith, asking saints for intercession can also help to Connect With Your Inner Child.
Intercession serves as a compliment to your core relationship with God, deepening your faith and strengthening solidarity with the Body of Christ.
If you found this practice to be helpful, visit TBR Etsy for a “Thank You Tony” sticker in honor of the patron of lost things!
≫ Has St. Anthony ever helped you find something that was lost? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
Read anything here that resonates? Save your favorite blog posts to Pinterest so others can find it too, and follow @thebeaconroad on Instagram for more bite sized content 🙂 Your support means so much—thank you for being here!
Shop the Look
