Inspiration propels us. It’s the basis of every accomplishment. But the idea that it simply falls into your lap is a myth. Inspiration doesn’t come to us in a gust of wind, only to disappear into the mist again. You make it happen; it’s a reward for work that you’ve already done. The combination of perspiration and inspiration takes you to where you want to go.
In this ode to what is perhaps the brain’s greatest achievement, Ap Dijksterhuis explains, with a storyteller’s verve, what inspiration is, why we have it, how it works and how to get it. Drawing upon on the most up-to-date research in neuroscience and psychology, he shows how inspiration stands in relation to creativity, motivation, curiosity and the overall functioning of the brain.
Ultimately, inspiration is not a privilege granted to a talented few: everyone who chooses inspiration will benefit from it. Including you.
In this ode to what is perhaps the brain’s greatest achievement, Ap Dijksterhuis explains, with a storyteller’s verve, what inspiration is, why we have it, how it works and how to get it. Drawing upon on the most up-to-date research in neuroscience and psychology, he shows how inspiration stands in relation to creativity, motivation, curiosity and the overall functioning of the brain.
Ultimately, inspiration is not a privilege granted to a talented few: everyone who chooses inspiration will benefit from it. Including you.
Table of Contents
1. PreludeThe best idea ever
Everything of value was unconscious
All hands on deck
The inspiration process
This book is about everyone
2. Vocation
The great soul
Love, energy, magic
The brilliant invention
Einstein, Darwin and other problem cases
How exceptional was Mozart?
Existential fuel
Messages from the depths of the ship’s hold
Will
3. Motivation
Brain hijackers
Proficiency, poetry and insurance policies
Forget reality
‘Why don’t you just fuck off’
Cuckoo in the nest
Because it’s there
Intuition as a by-product
4. Concentration
Mr Ramsay is rather busy
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A life for science
Panic at the coastguard
A winning hand and a broken finger
‘My mind peaks too’
Ludwig, brain owner
Infectious love
5. Stimulation
White mole with oysters
Teasing the prediction machine
First, deeper into the mire
Foes and friends
Stuff on which the Muse grows
Moral purity
Why heroes are important
The queen of emotions
Art begets art
6. Incubation
Thinking is a whale
Unconscious thought
Two jars of marbles
Sleep little brain, sleep
On gardening and lovemaking
The pig-headed unconscious
7. Magic
Godlike moments
Brilliant quickies
Why daydreaming is good
Bed, bath, bus
A requiem revealed
8. Perspiration
Misconception, misconception, misconception
A child’s bicycle tossed aside
COVID-19 and 720,001 photographs
Coffee beans and a joint of mutton
Listening to a weak signal
Time-wasting sentiment
Regular dance partner
9. Postlude
Why?
The red carpet to happiness
Viva la vida
The point of existence
This is the sea
Afterword
Playlist
Notes
Index
