Why We Need Inspiration More Than Ever Before

Inspiration plays a big role in our lives. Scott Barry Kaufmann mentions in his article that inspiration awakens new possibilities, and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities. 

For a period of time, the world has been on standby due to covid-19. For many of us, it has been a difficult time to find the motivation to push through and find meaning in the chaos. 

You see more countries are starting to open up again. And the restrictions are being lowered due to people getting the vaccine — which is a good thing — for now, you can experience a normal life again, right? 

But I believe you should ask yourself— what has the effect of the pandemic left you with? And if something similar would happen again, what would you do?

To withstand times of confusion and uncertainty, inspiration is needed.

Motivation isn’t the same as inspiration 

Words that sound the same can somehow end up being used interchangeably, and that’s the case with inspiration and motivation. 

Motivation has a shorter life span. It’s an external factor and is temporary — hence why it doesn’t last long. Once it’s gone, you will have to refill it again. Inspiration, on the other hand, happens internally. It’s this natural calling that comes from deep within us. If you are inspired — it will last forever. 

I’m not trying to dismiss motivation — far from it. Motivation has its function when you want to perform certain tasks in the now. But you will be better off knowing the differences between the terms.

Patrick Bet-David talks about in his video the differences between motivation and inspiration by saying motivation is about making statements like “you can make it” or “I believe in you” — while inspiration is about asking questions like “what’s your purpose in life” or “what do you want?”

Further in his video, he talks about the length in which you can recognize whether you’re inspired or motivated — by how long you stay excited or passionate about what you do.

Let’s say if you were to go to the gym because you wanted to be more fit, but you only manage to stay there for a month — and in that month you were inconsistent, meaning you had a hard time showing up. You were simply motivated to go to the gym, not inspired.

An Unstoppable Force

The person who has a calling and is inspired to do what they do despite the odds — is hard to take down. No matter the ridicule and hate, inspired people will continue their mission, their calling. The inspiration is the underlying WHY that pulls them in.

According to Thrash and Elliot, inspired people, are more open to new experiences. They also have a higher level of psychological resources such as belief in their own abilities and optimism.

A top professional athlete that comes to mind, who I believe is inspired, is Cristiano Ronaldo. You can say much about the guy, but the one thing you can agree on is: he’s inspired. Despite his age (36 years old), he keeps scoring goals and plays at the highest level.

Is There a Perfect Moment to be Inspired? 

The answer is: no. There’s no perfect moment to be inspired. 

Inspiration is not something that happens at will but is not out of your control, totally. What you can control is to set up an environment in which inspiration becomes accessible to you.  

The Time Is Now

There’s no better time to seek out your calling, the things you’re most passionate about.

Kristi Hedges in her article shares some tips on how you can rediscover your inspiration. 

Embrace curiosity. If you have the belief, that there is more to learn, and you know that there is more out in the world to learn. You are off to a good start. When you experience something new and fresh — new insights can be triggered. According to Kristi Hedges, those new experiences can be discovered through reading a book, taking a class, attending professional gatherings, or traveling. 

Keep going. You might feel stuck, but waiting for inspiration to strike you isn’t going to help. Every step you take, every move you make (no pun intended) will reveal new possibilities and experiences — which otherwise wouldn’t happen if you were glued to your computer screen. 

Connect with people. Finding and talking with people who are doing different things from what you are doing, can spark inspiration. That’s why you get inspired by role models because they share their stories, which give birth to new ideas — and perhaps change the way we see the world for the better. 

Focus on what’s important. One of the characteristics of an inspired person is openness to new things. Openness can sometimes result in an overload of choices. When you feel overwhelmed, you end up doing nothing. And by narrowing it down to what’s most important (three, preferably), you are making it easier for yourself to act. 

The World Is Fast-Paced

The world is moving fast, and you don’t get the time to think or ponder because you have to continue with your lives— or else it would feel like you are wasting your time. 

The good thing that has come out of the global pandemic is — that for the first time in a long time, you were forced to take it slow. The world became upside down, and for some of us, we had to look back at our lives and ask ourselves important questions which had been laid off for months and years. 

Questions like “What I’m I doing with my life?” or “The things that I’m doing does it bring me fulfillment?”

These are important questions that force you to look deep into yourself and become familiar with who you are as a human again. 

This is also where inspiration kicks in.