As human beings we need inspiration and motivation in our life. Now more than ever it is necessary to know what inspires us and what motivates us. If in your world these two things are synonymous, great! Apply them to your daily lives and see what is possible because inspiration and motivation changes your thoughts and therefore, changes your actions.
Inspiration
According to the Oxford dictionary, inspiration is defined as: the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
I love this because this definition is exactly what it means to me—to be mentally stimulated. It’s an arousal of the mind, whether by something you see, hear, or read. So, this means inspiration is coming from an external source. Inspiration may come from a person you admire, a novel you read, a song you hear, a TED talk, a quote, anything which may cause you to find a passion. For example, Bill Gates was inspired by a developer of a personal computer after he read an article in an electronics magazine.
We all need inspiration in our life. When I think of inspiration, I think of it as being the spark that ignites creativity, potential and the drive you inherently possess. Some of us have a little, or maybe a lot, of difficulty accessing this creativity. Once you know what your passion is, and access your creativity, you start using it to your advantage.
Motivation
Motivation is defined as: the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way, and the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.
To me, motivation is something which comes from within. I call this the internal stimulator. What moves you to do what you do? What are your values which allow you to motivate yourself to do something outside your comfort zone? I know how hard it is to get motivated. I‘ve struggled with it. But when you find a reason to get off the couch to exercise, to eat healthier so you can lose weight, to start looking for a better job to feel fulfilled, that’s when you know your motivation has kicked in. And when it does, don’t allow the inevitable obstacles to stop you, and don’t listen to the people who tell you you can’t! It’s up to you to take control and decide to make your dreams a reality.
I’d like to suggest a few ideas to spark some inspiration and motivation:
- YOU. You are the only one of you in the world. Become the inspiration you are looking for. You know yourself the best, so it makes sense that you’re the appropriate person to create change. Begin by writing out the things you want to be or become. Start with small achievable goals and continue until you see positive changes. But if being your own inspiration is not quite yet attainable, don’t give up. You can always look to others who have paved the way.
- Look to others for sources of inspiration. This could be an inspirational public figure, a mentor, a life coach (wink), anyone who you think can spark your creativity. Learning from others is an essential part of life.
- Read something positive. You will likely find something inspirational reading something positive, than reading something negative or not reading anything at all. If you’re on social media there’s a slew of inspirational and motivational profiles and famous people who can keep you inspired throughout the day with their posts. Also, search the net for positive articles related to your interests. Surely you will find something worth reading!
- Start writing down the things you love and the goals you have. When you write things down, your brain switches to solution mode. So inevitably, you will feel compelled to take action to get what you want. Forbes magazine wrote an article called “Neuroscience Explains Why You Need To Write Down Your Goals If You Actually Want To Achieve Them.” and what stood out to me was this: “Writing things down doesn’t just help you remember, it makes your mind more efficient by helping you focus on the truly important stuff. And your goals absolutely should qualify as truly important stuff!”
- Make a vision board. This sort of goes hand in hand with writing things down. If you’re not familiar with vision boards, its simply a place where you collect pictures and words that depict what you want and how you want to feel and bring them together. Essentially it will help you envision and visualize what you want for your life. My vision board has changed over the years, every time I achieve something, I update it with something new I want for myself. It doesn’t need to be a huge board, or super fancy or even Instagram worthy. What matters is it includes what is important to you, and the things you want to achieve. Then you put in a location where you can constantly see it and by visualizing that you already have these things, it inspires you to go out and work for them.
So, whether you would like some or more inspiration or motivation, there are plenty of ways to find it. If you have reasons for wanting to improve and know this requires work, then get to work! If you need motivation, inspiration, or help with guidance on how to get your plan in motion, I may be able to help. Connect with me through my Connect page here. You can can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook @viziontrak.
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