better sources of inspiration than pinterest

know yourself better than your algorithm

lately my days seem to be marked by a symphony of varying notification pings, my eyes feel trained to notice a digital flash indicating a new message, my entire world feels as if it resides in a intangible universe sitting idly in my pocket. i tend to feel this way when i do not carve out enough restorative time where i can comfortably exhale and allow my thoughts to dance as interpretively as they please without the constraints of outside forces. i’ve also found that lately there has been a void in true creativity/inspiration in my life… which may be confusing because i am someone who scrolls on pinterest more than anyone i know. i have always considered pinterest to be a superior use of my screen time as it can be a conduit for inspiration and allows me to physically categorize and analyze common threads of things i am drawn to (which is great and important). however… i have been feeling victim to the algorithmic gods more so than usual. it feels too easy to linger on something you find compelling and suddenly be served 75 similar but slightly different photos that perfect encompass everything you have been searching for. this may be a divisive take but… cultivating inspiration should not be “easy”, you should have to seek out that tiny spark of excitement and continuously work for it. your life should be spent building a personal lexicon of movies, magazines, books, songs, people, parties, outfits, street corners etc. that are slowly stamped into your brain over time that alter your perception of your personal taste. and i do not think this can be achieved by having a really good pinterest board… unfortunately.

i’ve been thinking a lot about where i find inspiration ~offline~, here are some of my favorite sources that are better than my pinterest boards

PEOPLE WATCHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is the number one contributor to why i insufferably say, “i don’t think i could everrrrrr leave new york” at parties. people watching in new york is my favorite thing in the entire world, but it is extremely neighborhood dependent. i prefer to avoid neighborhoods where “fashion” people tend to congregate (soho, west village, etc..) because where i find the most inspiration in new york is people who are silhouette forward as opposed to being brand forward. my favorite neighborhoods to stroll and observe are east village, lower east side, chinatown and both the upper west and east side (outdoor farmer’s markets on the weekend is also peak people watching content). people in new york tend to wear their creativity outwardly, which makes sense because so much of the social currency in the city is creativity. i rarely see an outfit on the street that i would want to wear myself which is a key pillar of what i am drawn to: individuals/brands/artists with a own unique perspective artisanally crafted and physically manifested outwardly into the world. pay attention to how someone on the street wears a t-shirt, the color of their socks, how worn their wallet is, whether or not they brushed their hair … noticing how people live is one of the most precious aspects of universality. i think a lot about this mesh top i have from sandy liang, it is essentially a visual moodboard of everything that inspires her which features older women running errands and overstuffed grocery bags and wilted flowers, all of which you can sense as a source of inspiration in sandy’s brand organically.

art museums

this piggybacks on people watching because what i end up noticing more so than the art at museums is how people consume art. whether they linger for an excessive amount of time where you can almost feel their thoughts seeping through their spine, whether they stay with whoever they came with or momentarily break apart, how wide their eyes get when they see something truly spectacular.. what i really love about museums is that it is one of the rare times where individuals are forced to be fully present in the face of something that is meant to spark a thought, feeling or emotion. they are designed for us deduce what we are drawn to and what makes us feel uncomfortable.

print magazines

i am a print magazine enthusiast, and i surprisingly think there has been no better time in print than now because magazines are under excruciating pressure to create truly innovative best-in-class content in order to survive. reading an article in a physical magazine as opposed to reading it online allows you to stay with the words for slightly longer and there is no risk of a notification uprooting the seed of a thought you were beginning to have. seeing an editorial shoot in front of you versus diluted on instagram brings a sense of awe in terms of the magnitude of thought and detail that goes into it. if you worry about accumulating magazines i urge you buy a chic magazine stand to celebrate your collection as opposed to hording it in a pile to be thrown away.

breaking your routine

i am a self-proclaimed deep creature of habit. i walk the exact same path to work everyday, i write at the same coffee shop on the weekend, whenever i go to a new restaurant i really love i always want to go back again and again and again. i’ve learned this is a symptom of anxiety which is why the habitualness of the routine exudes a soothing quality i become addicted to. rituals, routines, habits etc. are an important way construct a life you love living but i find that i glean the most amount of “inspiration” when i break out of my routines. something even as simple as walking down a street i’ve never gone down or even listening to a different genre of music cracks open the thick exoskeleton i’ve built around what i choose to consume. TRY SOMETHING NEW!!!! even if you hate it you will learn something new about yourself and the world around you.

movies !!!

i love movies. and i have always loved movies but growing up i limited myself to only going to the movies with others which in turn meant carrowling people i know to see a movie i wanted to see (i have retrospectively apologized to my younger brother for forcing him to see lady bird with me in theatres). this resulted in a lot of films i ended up missing due to lack of coordination. there is a weird stigma against seeing movies alone which i find odd because the entire experience is the perfect environment to be alone.. now i see movies by myself quite frequently and i am able to take in the scene and costumes even deeper because i am not preoccupied with what my movie companion is thinking. after seeing a really good movie that inspires me i try to create visual moodboards of different scenes which i can come back to over and over again for a small burst of feeling.

attending dinners/parties/events with new people

i was talking to a friend the other week and invited them to a party where they responded, “i won’t know anyone there” and i quickly replied “that is the point!!!!!!” being in an environment with new people is uncomfortable and challenging which is exactly why it is important. conversations with people who have different perspectives than you are is similar to collecting little crumpled receipts in your purse, some of which were worth more than others but they still had a tangible sense of exchange that you will carry with you even if you forgot they were there. also idk if you heard but it is the year of the party girl so GO OUT! this is also my argument for why i think people should be going on first dates more (my DMs are open).

being by yourself

this may be person dependent ( i have only ever been myself so i can’t say for certain lol) but i find a lot of value and solace in being by myself. this weekend in particular i cancelled all my plans and sat in my apartment while i read and wrote. i find that i am the least inspired when i am tired/overwhelmed and as a ~extroverted introvert~ that happens quite easily when i over-program myself between work and social events. i always feel the most like myself when i spend a weekend at the beach with just my parents because i am able to sit and think and massage my thoughts without the cutting pressure of having to bounce from plan to plan. days of the week are fake, if you want to stay in for an entire weekend GO FOR IT, if you want to go out on a tuesday because you are feeling rambunctious GO FOR IT. your capacity to take in your surroundings will thank you and give you back so much in return.

more so than anything, what i am trying to work on lately is finding the beauty in putting effort into things. whether it is through attempting a new pose at yoga or cooking a new recipe or planning a evening with friends… even writing this substack is work, i love it desperately but it requires a level of motivation to start typing.. and it is unbelievably worth it to me in the end. in a culture where access to everything is becoming easier and easier i urge you to consciously put in the work to identify your own sources of inspiration outside of algorithmic serving platters. i find that when life is exhausting i turn to digital solace as opposed to mustering the grit to put effort into things that will give me the energetic dividends that turn my life shiny and allow me to fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow.

<3

ps. i still love pinterest and will probably never stop using it, i am just trying to work a litter harder to find alternative sources of inspiration.

pps. not to sound like an influencer but ~a lot of you are new here~ welcome little angels. please do not hesitate to let me know what you like/dislike/want more of! i love hearing your thoughts, you are all so smart and cool and interesting i am so grateful you read my work. :`)

here are small things that have inspired me in some way that are from my real life :)

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX