The last year has been nuts. Plain and simple. I would suspect that if I looked back at the last 20 years, the last year could compete with any of them for the most wild swings in what I or others would consider normal. Some would say that it is just life and there is nothing special about my circumstances. Either perspective I suppose is correct in some way.
But for me, in the midst of all the chaos, I lost something. Something very important. Something that when it is lost can make life seem pointless and not worth continuing. This thing I am speaking of is inspiration.
Inspiration, whether we realize it or not, is the one constant that keeps everyone pushing to finish the current day and begin the next one. It is essential to life. Without it we would all run around in circles like some kind of primitive herd, feeding on our instincts. Some would say that inspiration is what separates us from animals. It is the lifeblood of the human psyche.
We are human, because we can be “Inspired”. No other species on the planet can be inspired and then act upon that inspiration.
Inspiration is a strange thing though. It is not something that can be faked. You are either inspired or you are not. You cannot pretend (at least if you are being honest with yourself) to be inspired. It is either on or off. I have found myself many times though trying to fake inspiration or maybe a better way to put it would be that I tried too hard to “be” inspired.
Taking this thought a step forward, we as humans are often our own worst enemy when it comes to finding, grasping and leveraging inspiration in our day to day lives. We forget as the old saying goes, to “stop and smell the roses.” We forget that being inspired means being happy and challenged. We forget that through inspiration we find new solutions to problems and sometimes identify problems themselves. We have to be willing to find inspiration for it too come to us. Open for new ideas and possibilities.
I made a decision recently to seek out inspiration in as much of my life as I can. I want to make inspiration a part of everything I do. If I can find inspiration in the small things in life, I can build on that to find inspiration for the big things in life.
I recently took on an exercise to express as many things as I could that inspire me and cause me to act. Here are the highlights of that list:
innovation, beauty, symmetry, sunsets, sunrises, clouds, contrast, my children, my wife, technology, challenges, organic forms, problems without a solution, collaboration, social interaction, promise of fortune
Here is a list of things that stifle my inspiration:
rules, busy work, expectations of others, stress, lack of self discipline, heat, sickness, being broke, anger, not being in control
It is likely that we all have a list of things that inspire us and a list of things that stifle our inspiration. I would encourage everyone to write out a list of the things that inspire you and a list of things that keep you from being inspired. Then act upon this list. Bring more things to your life that inspire you. Seek out inspiration in everything you do.
Where there is inspiration, there is hope; where there is hope, there is purpose; and with a solid understanding of purpose, we all can do great things. We can all change the world. These are not new ideas for any of us, we sometimes must be reminded though of their importance.
