Each and every day, we are all subjected to a horrible instinct, something that reaches out to us from the void and jolts us into a different reality. Often, this new reality is one of our own creation, but that doesn’t mean that it was our idea. Inspiration has a funny way of striking when we least expect it and nothing quite like inspiration can alter our lives in such a radical fashion. This begs the question, with inspiration able to strike at any moment, are you ready for it?

If you haven’t already figured out a way to prepare yourself for this inevitability, no worries, we got you.

First, you need to have a notepad of some kind with you at all times. This is essential in capturing the inspiration when it finally rears its indomitable head and allows for you to glimpse its fading singularity. Nothing will serve you as well as a trust notebook in the days that will come, and boy are they coming.

Next, you need to keep your mind as clear and open as possible in order to be fully receptive to inspiration when it comes into your life. You will never see it coming and even on rare moments when you can anticipate it’s coming, unless you are fully open and ready, it will be nothing more than a breath in the wind, a whisper on the breeze. Fortunately, you can train yourself to be able to catch more ideas as they fly past your head from the world around you.

Finally, when inspiration strikes, unless you have adequate tools for creating what the inspiration dictates, you can end up spiraling. I once had a friend that followed an inspiration for years, only to come up empty-handed when they didn’t have the right tools to crack the final code and hatch the idea that had been in their brains for months. You must be able to crack it or else, what was all this fuss about? What was the reason for pursuing a new creation anyway?

Only by facing our fears and our hopes head on can we truly achieve everything we are inspired and aspire to be. So get after it and when inspiration strikes, grab it by the horns and get in there. You deserve it.

This article was written and in fact, created, by Nathan Ellwood. Follow him @NPEllwood.