The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working. Beethoven, Wagner, Bach and Mozart settled down day after day to the job in hand with as much regularity as an accountant settles down each day to his figures. They didn’t waste time waiting for inspiration.
~Ernest Newman
Have you ever had an epiphany? You know – one of those moments where something suddenly becomes clear to you and you smack yourself in the head wondering why you didn’t think of it before. I love epiphanies, but they’re very capricious phenomena. You can scare them away by anticipating their arrival.
Whenever I’ve been visited by one of these flashes of inspiration, I’m usually in a quiet state, free from the distractions of daily life. I mentioned last time that we recently took a vacation on Prince Edward Island. I’d wanted to see it for many years. We’ve taken very few vacations over the years, so I was looking forward to the trip all year.
PEI is known for its endless beaches, red soil, and of course, the charming Anne of Green Gables novels. Seems like a prime locale for an epiphany, doesn’t it?
Decisions, Decisions …
I really appreciate an epiphany when I’ve got a tough decision to make and no clear inkling of the best path to take. But the real magic comes when an epiphany alerts you to a goal that you didn’t even know you had. Lately, I’ve struggled with a few minor personal and financial decisions, but more frustrating has been this feeling that I’m not even sure exactly what some of my goals are or should be. I was really hoping for a burst of inspiration while on vacation.
It didn’t happen. Nothing came to me. We saw some beautiful sights and I fulfilled a longtime dream of visiting the Canadian Emerald Island. But no flashes of brilliance materialized. No clear path stretched out before me and I came home feeling a little lost.
What Now?
With the easy button out of service, I was left with a couple of options:
A) Keep Waiting: Maybe I jinxed my chance for an epiphany by hoping it would arrive. Perhaps I should just put it out of my mind and keep hoping for a true epiphany at a moment when I least expect it?
B) Just Do It: I could take action. Start. Do something. I could look at the goals I know about and strike out on a mission to achieve them. In the process, I might discover some new ideas, goals and dreams. Then I could concentrate on figuring out ways to achieve them.
I chose B. While there’s something to be said for gathering information and carefully weighing options, you can only do it for so long before you become frustrated by a lack of progress. If your ruminating isn’t delivering the goods, it’s time to grab the keys and drive yourself.
It doesn’t matter if you’re not quite sure where you’re going. Sometimes you just have to figure it out along the way. And you never know . . . That elusive epiphany just might make an appearance at some point along your journey.
Have you ever had an epiphany?
This is a wonderfully written post that resonated with me deeply. I, too, have loved having the occasional epiphany and agree it cannot be forced or planned. Yes, it will often come in a nature setting and when we get used to that pattern, we are disappointed when it doesn’t happen that way. But sometimes it happens at Starbucks instead.
With regard to your present situation, I am fairly sure that your “Plan A” will not work. Better to keep moving – a form of your “Plan B”. You might also try reading some books, but not the finance or self-help books you might have used in your information gathering phase. In other words, try Descartes “conversations with the finest minds of the past”. I find this often puts one in the right state of mind to perceive things better.
Ooooh. Descartes! I think I’ll take your advice on that. I have been reading a lot of books with more concrete ideas, which are great, but as you say mat not be quite as conducive to coaxing an epiphany out of hiding
I’m so glad you enjoyed this. Thank you.
The biggest epiphany I’ve ever had came to me while I was in the process of not knowing what to do and just took action. I was living in New York and grew exhausted of the job I had and unsure where my career was going to go after 3 years of feeling this way. My boyfriend and I decided to move to San Francisco and give that a try. We drove across the country and somewhere in Oklahoma (fifth day of driving) everything became clear. I finally knew exactly what I wanted for my career and am now working to make it happen. But the epiphany didn’t come until after I saved enough money to move, quit my job, and made the trek across country. Like you said, sometimes you have to make the best choice you can and things will be come more clear as you go.
Great story Shannon. I guess making sure you keep moving forward is a good way to put yourself in a position to be ready when and if an epiphany does strike. If you hadn’t prepared by saving enough to move, who knows what would (or wouldn’t!) have happened? Best of luck as you work toward your goals. It sounds like you’re off to a great start!