Writing is a mental and emotional exercise that is hugely underrated as a meditative practice. There's a reason that so many people take to journals and diaries to release their deepest and most personal thoughts. Writing is a wonderful way to relieve some of the tensions, frustrations, and worries you have building in your psyche.
Through writing we can also find greater passion and insight for the things that happen around us. Writing as a personal hobby encourages us to search our interests, examine our thoughts and feelings, and explore new and exciting topics. With a new hobby that encourages engagement and exploration, maintaining a healthy and happy mind and soul is easier. Without an exciting or inspiring idea, writing can be challenging.
Sometimes the best inspiration can come from some of the more unlikely places. For most of us, when we think about inspiration, we think about traveling to new places and experiencing new things. To find inspiration right from your writing nook, check out these three hugely inspirational educational websites.
Open Courseware
MIT's open courseware initiative has changed the face of education in many ways. With thousands of college classes available online, anyone can access higher education topics from the nation's best professors. That being said, open courseware also offers wonder opportunities for writing inspiration. Writers can explore completely new topics in different areas of higher education. Take a science course in biology to try to gain a new perspective on things or find a fresh idea. Learning about a new subject can work in much the same was as experiencing a new culture or new city. You can take the class in its entirely or just bounce around through the class until something strikes your fancy.
Khan Academy
Like open courseware, the Khan Academy has also made huge waves in the world of academia. Khan Academy offers hundreds of video lessons on different levels of math, science, finance, economics, computer science, and much more. These quick video lessons can be great ways to enrich your mind and ignite some creativity. Again, you're exploring new things and pulling inspiration from a new experience.
You can also use Khan's unique way of teaching lessons to re-approach an old subject or topic that used to inspire you. Maybe seeing this subject in a new and exciting way will spark something new in you. Khan allows you to access all of these videos and lessons online for free and works hard to make them as enlightening and entertaining as possible.
TED
TED talks are by far my favorite sources for writing and life inspiration. TED offers thousands of videos of talks given throughout the world by leaders in business, education, and innovation. These speeches are given by some of the smartest, most influential, and inspiring individuals in the world today.
In just 15 minutes you can learn something completely new about the "slow food revolution" and find a new inspiring topic to write about. TED covers topics that fall into all areas, including education, technology, science, business, art, entertainment, and so much more. After you watch just one video, you'll be hooked. Exploring the site under the "fascinating", "inspiring", "beautiful", and "ingenious" categories, you're sure to find something that sparks your interest and inspires you to write.
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