There are probably thousands of definitions of what inspiration is. I will not look them up. Rather, I want to share with you my view on what inspiration is and how you can pass it on to others. I believe Inspiration is a state of mind that causes you to be motivated, more creative and have high hopes. It enables you to overcome the fear of failure, try something new or just get going. It makes you realize that you can and probably should do that thing (whatever that may be). Inspiration unblocks the barriers that hinder your creativity, it allows you to think differently.
A great historical person once said something that can be paraphrased as “There is something super awesome afoot so start thinking differently and take action”.
What makes you inspire others
In order to be inspiring, you need to be inspired yourself, have hope and self-confidence. And you need to be doing whatever the inspiration regards to.
You are the one that goes before others, who follow because they see the actions you took and the results it had.
When someone sees you doing the thing that they also secretly dream of doing, they realize that it is not impossible and it releases the boldness for them to act. Your actions have become an inspiration to them.
An inspirateur does not seek praise but makes it easier for others to succeed. An inspirateur is not in it for their own gain, but for the gain of others. An inspirateur does not keep their hard earn keys to success a secret but releases the knowledge once it is found.
Start doing what inspires you!Fear of failure, peoples opinions or being exposed as a fraud keeps you from becoming an inspirateur.
There is a term called Impostor syndrome. That is the belief that the success you have is a chance of mere luck and that you do not really have a right to be here. You fear being exposed as a fraud. This is very common in high achieving fields.
“Everyone else is so talented”
In order to inspire others, you need to embrace who you are and appreciate and develop your strengths and start using them in order to improve the lives of those around you.
The world is full of very talented people, and those are the ones you often see and compare yourself to. I bet they were terrified when they started doing whatever they do. But they started and kept going, and they grew.
How to start daring
You are wonderful!
You do not, and shall not, compare yourself to others if you wish to inspire. You are a unique individual that has so much potential. When you compare yourself to others you often compare your weaknesses to the strengths of others. That will make you discouraged.
We are all different. We have been born with different talents. We have our strengths and weaknesses. You have some awesome traits, that when you put them into practice, you become like a wonderful flower that blooms. People will see this and it will affect them in a positive way.
If we try to be someone else, someone we are not, we will feel like we do not fit in. We will constantly feel like we are worse than others. It is like riding a bike against the wind. We start to become jealous of other peoples talents. We fail to see the beauty that is within ourselves. We become unaware of our own strengths and talents.
When you discover and embrace who you are, stop comparing yourself to others, discover and develop your strengths, you will start to flourish and become an inspiration to others.
This does not mean you shall neglect your weaknesses, no, but do not let them define you. Invite someone that has strengths where you are weak to come along. Then there will be true synergy. Then you will succeed. Also, you will learn to strengthen your weaknesses.
A team of similar persons will have the same strengths but also the same weaknesses and blind spots. They will have a great time together but get little done. The fact is that we need each other.
What happens when you become free in who you are?
When you discover who you are, your passions, talents and what makes you tick, you will be free, and that freedom will express itself in:
- Your boldness: I dare to speak up, start acting and get going.
- Your creativity: What I contribute with has value.
- Your self-confidence: What I say matters.
- Your self-esteem: I am who I am, and that is fine.
How do you discover your passion and talents
Start saying THANK YOU for -*bleep*- sakes.
Develop a habit where, when someone says something positive about you, you look them in the eye and thank them and express that their feedback was really valuable.
This will help you remember who you are and what you are really good at.
The more you put your talents into practice, you know those that come so naturally for you, you will start to receive more and more positive feedback. You need to start receiving it with gratitude and taking it in.
Develop your passion
Replace Netflix with doing the thing that gives you energy, is your passion, and what you want to learn. You have got great potential and great talents. But if you do not put them into practice they will not do much for you or the world around you. Then you must be content with comparing yourself to others and feeling bad that they excel where you are weak.
Have you ever thought: “If I had only started with this-or-that 5 years ago”. Well now is 5 years ago 5 years from now. It is never too late! Don’t mind that there are thousands of others doing that same thing and rocking it awesomely.
The Best way to get started with let’s say blogging about a specific topic, imagine that your audience is yourself two weeks ago. Do not think that you need to know everything before you start. Then you will never start. But share with yourself two weeks ago what you have learned since then. He will be grateful.
Think of what would have had been good to know then and explain it to him in the best way you can.
Not everyone will be inspired and that is ok.
People are different. Some people find energy and inspiration in completely different things than you. Some might find the idea of doing the things that you are passionate about exhausting. Some might strongly disagree with you.
There will probably be the naysayers. That only complain. That think you should settle for the mediocre. And frankly they are not so many of them but their voices can be loud in your head and that might give an impression that the whole world is against you. But remember those hundred compliments you received? NO? Why the -*bleep*- not! I told you to remember them! Don’t let one failure or that one bad feedback take away what your successes and all the positive feedback have given you.
The bottom line is: Just be yourself, don’t be afraid, you are so awesome! Go get `em!
– Christoffer Björkskog