Finding Inspiration & Drive

Inspiration and drive work happily hand in hand when it comes to self-development. Together, when fuelled, these two elements of human nature form a cycle that allows us to grow as a person. Specifically, into a person who can and will achieve the promises we make ourselves. Think about it. If we weren’t inspired to make a change, then we’d have no drive to do so. Similarly, if we weren’t driven, our ideas would never develop into an action. Success won’t find you. You have to make the first step. And how? By pouring a whole lot of focus into any idea you find.

Related: Gurbaksh Chahal on Being Driven to Succeed

Being Inspired

 

Being inspired is feeling deep passion and excitement for something that you have experienced or thought about. It’s the feeling when you look at something or someone that thrills you and fills you with wonder, anticipation; a focus that allows us to see the brightness and colour in an idea. It might be a place, a time of day or a season. It might even be something as simple as hearing about someone who achieved what your reaching for.

We are all capable of being inspired. It’s the clever people who realise that the key to having successful ideas and achieving your goals is to channel these emotions. After all, the more excited you are about something, the more excited and driven you will be towards taking it further.

 

Related: 5 Top Tips For… Inspiration: How To Be Inspired

Where To Find Inspiration

Pure inspiration can come from anywhere and anyone.

There is usually a trend in the things we are animated by. You may only find inspiration in the stories of people who are well known in your treasured field or by places that are hot and sunny.But it doesn’t always work that way.

 

In life, the spark can come from the most unlikely of places. That’s why experiencing new situations is an important part in self-discovery and living an inspired life. You may turn down an opportunity because those aren’t normally the sort of people you like or it isn’t the place you thrive in, but life is full of surprises; to live life you must let yourself be surprised!

 

Like any living thing though, humans thrive in some environments and wither in others. Where one man might see a beautiful country-side, another may see ‘just a hill’.

 

Sounds like a simple concept… but if your bored of something, if you don’t see the spark in where your heading, go somewhere else. It’s important to be inspired by the surroundings that we spend most of our time in, because adapting to some where that you aren’t inspired by can stunt your inner growth without you even knowing.

 

So if you find a place that excites you, what are you doing in a place that doesn’t?

 

It’s the same with people. You may feel yourself drawn away from certain people more than others, leaving conversations with them feeling like nothing is possible. Every second you spend with someone who makes you doubt yourself, in a place that makes it a struggle for you to smile will have an effect on you.

 

If your surrounded by negative people, it’s hard to swim above the tide so naturally we tend to adapt. But we shouldn’t have too. It’s your life and your shine that’s being dimmed. So whenever possible it’s a good idea to keep our shine, shining. To live in a place that you are excited to face each morning. To spend time with a person who keeps you feeling inspired.

Doing Your Part

By conferring with the sorts of people who fuel our excitement, who we feel drawn to and inspired by, you guessed it, will make us feel more excited! New York City may be beautiful with it’s tall buildings, canary-yellow taxis and skyline but it’s the feeling of the place that makes people want to go. The people. The attitude. The atmosphere. And it’s infectious too.

But you have to do your part. Inspiration won’t come knocking on your door, so never stop searching for it, keep an open mind about everything you come into contact with and try to experience new things, new people, and new places as often as you can. And when you do feel inspired, act upon it!

Think and learn and reflect on what you find. It’s great to seek solitude in your surroundings, to tune into what you find beautiful but it’s also great to talk and share the experiences you feel passionate about to feed your inspiration, and keep you motivated.

“A Life That’s Inspired is a Life That’s Driven”

“The guy says, “I wish someone would come by and turn me on.” What if they don’t show up?” – Jim Rohn

 

The key to a successful life is one that combines both the spark and the fuel to become naturally empowered and motivated. The ability to turn what we see into reality; to set alight to our passions and dreams. So how do we do that? How do we grasp hold of what we truly want in life and make that stretch?

 

Simple. By motivating ourselves and taking steps towards our goals.

 

In the cycle of living an inspiration-driven life, your driveis the wings that will eventually help you to soar. The fuel and incentive that blossoms what you see and what you don’t see into ideas. Inspired ideas. Drive isn’t always natural to us. Some people know exactly what they want, but just don’t bother to find out how to get there, but it’s easy to learn if your willing to try. And for those not willing to try… they obviously won’t be willing to stretch either!

You have full control over your behaviours and decisions. You may have no control over the effects or results of your actions, but what you do and say is completely your own. So control your actions. If you watch too much TV, then get rid of it. If your bored of the countryside then move to the city. Surround yourself by what you’re inspired by, constant reminders of where you want to fly, and allow being driven to become a habit rather than a goal.

If you ignore the temptations to adapt, you’ll find that it really is easy to live by what your inspired by once you get started. Whether the step is simply to move house or decorate your desk with quotes, you’ll always be more driven to face the day if you are excited by them and the goals that you set yourself!

So if your inspired by technology; don’t set yourself a science project. If your inspired by science; don’t spend your time reading J.K Rowling quotes. We are all driven by different things… because we’re inspired by different things. If you know what you want, then go out and find a way to get it. With inspiration, comes motivation. With motivation comes an urgency to get the job done.

So set yourself a deadline to do so. If your not demanding of yourself, then you won’t be demanded of or driven at all. The best kind of motivation is self-motivation. A desire heightened by urgency and inspired by our own desires.

It really is a cycle!

Next Page: Your Spirituality

Wrote by Aimee Hall