When I read this quote, it made me realize that being curious, and consistently looking for better methods to improve performance, are the cause of inspiration. Looking outside of your chosen profession for better ways to do things helps you build on your current methods. Learn from your failures as well as your wins.
"Inspiration is not the exclusive privilege of poets or artists. There is, there has been, there will always be a certain group of people whom inspiration visits. It's made up of all those who've consciously chosen their calling and do their job with love and imagination. It may include doctors, teachers, gardeners — I could list a hundred more professions. Their work becomes one continuous adventure as long as they manage to keep discovering new challenges in it. Difficulties and setbacks never quell their curiosity. A swarm of new questions emerges from every problem that they solve. Whatever inspiration is, it's born from a continuous I don't know."
Wislawa Szymborska, Poet