Inspiration

With Mother’s Day just a few days ago it was a great reminder and opportunity for me to reflect on the source of a great deal of my inspiration. My mother. I am sure just like many of you, much of your character, strength, and wisdom comes from those who raised you. So as I sat back and reflected on the time spent with my mom as a child and now as an adult, fully capable of understanding her actions and intentions as a mother, a wife, a friend I naturally started to draw parallels between the way she raised me and my feelings of inspiration. Ultimately it got me thinking about my life and the drive that pushes me to want to do and be better.

Inspiration is something that comes from within. It is defined as the excitement of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity. It is a direct result of an internal force cultivated by how you feel as compared to being motivated where there is an outside force driving you to do something (i.e. the carrot and the horse). When you are inspired to do and be, reward becomes irrelevant because you know the purpose of your actions are at the heart of the matter.

Surely the characteristics my mom instilled in me are in part a large component of what moves me to do more, but is that enough to drive someone to be great beyond their wildest dreams?

Recently I was reminded that inspiration is found all around us. It’s nearly impossible not to take value from most people and things we come into contact with. Whether it’s a conversation with a family member, exchange of ideas with a colleague, an author’s words in the recent book you’re reading, a speech you’ve heard or quote you’ve read, the quiet moment as you silently watch two strangers interact, or when your favorite sports team wins the championship game. There are literally hundreds of thousands of moments that exist and serve as inspiration. My question to you then becomes how do you interpret these moments and utilize them to further serve your purpose and your life? And are you able to recognize their value and in turn move into action?

Imagine for just a minute what your life could be like if you put all the inspiration you came into contact with and cultivated it into action? It’s easy to recognize when you’ve been inspired, the hard part is actually doing something with that energy.

If inspiration truly is all around us I challenge you this week to start doing. Heighten your awareness so that you are open and receptive to all that is around you. When you feel moved by something ask yourself what impact you could have on the world if you took action. If you see the impact as recognizable go back to the concept of goals by creating a S.M.A.R.T. goal around the action and see how it benefits your life and those around you. Keep it simple as always, until you feel confident to move onto bigger and better.

The beauty here is when you recognize your own points of inspiration you in turn become inspiration for others. One of my favorite quotes is “Consider becoming the type of energy that no matter where you go, or where you are, you always add value to the spaces and lives of those around you.” - India Ame’ye

had a friend send me this message saying it was how they felt about me. Probably one of the highest honors I’ve received to date. She probably doesn’t know it but I am now inspired by her each day to live up to the weight the message holds. The beauty to believe I am able to inspire and make a difference just like my mother has and just like you have the potential to do.

The opportunity presents itself in every waking moment, it’s up to you to recognize it and do something with it.

I am already inspired by your potential.