There is a lot of talk around about inspiration – it drives much positive psychology and self-development advice and is said to be one of the keys to living a truly happy, fulfilled and inspired life.
So what is inspiration to be exact?
The word ‘inspire’ comes from the latin inspirare meaning to ‘breathe or blow into‘ which, from its root, refers to guidance from a divine or supernatural being. It was said that true inspiration comes from without, and is gifted to us in a moment of grace. But I would argue that inspiration comes from within and is born out of alignment with what makes us feel good.
When we are aligned with what makes us feel good, we are more open to allowing creativity and other right-brained activities such as insight and intuition to flow through us. This is in direct opposition to using our willpower and motivation to cause us to take actions that don’t always feel good. Taking the road of least resistance, or inspiration, allows our good and natural feelings to guide us towards opportunities that we would otherwise miss when we are efforting.
And while relying on motivation and willpower to drive us towards success in life and in our pursuits, the energy behind these actions can be forced, uncomfortable, difficult to sustain and so often lead to feelings of frustration and failure. Sure, if we achieve the object of our motivation and willpower we will feel a wonderful high – for a short time.
On the other hand, when we allow our inspiration to guide us, we live truly from our essence and experience a constant source of joy and contentment. We tend to be more equanimous when we don’t tie our expectations to a specifically ordered result, that is often the creation of someone else’s rules and expectations. Inspiration allows us a freedom that we don’t control as by its very nature it is uncontrollable.
[Tweet ” Our enemy is the constant need to be striving & achieving…but where's the inspired action?”]
I would argue that the modern woman’s enemy is the constant need to be striving and achieving – these are all very well to use in short bursts but it goes against the feminine energy of flow and ease. When we try to control our environment and everyone in it by organising and arranging everything that we come into contact with, then we damage our ability to be vulnerable and loving.
The flow stops and so does the source of our inspiration.
Where in your life do you find yourself stressed about achieving a result and controlling the outcome? What if instead you waited until you were inspired to action, and allowing those around you the same freedom?
Imagine for a moment how it would feel to be pulled along by the momentum of what truly feels good to you, rather than trying to motivate yourself by believing that the end result will be ample justification for whatever means you need no matter how unaligned you feel in the process.
How would your life be different?
