Today I had an inspiring thought.
I have inspiring thoughts most days, actually. The trouble is, I don’t always hear them. Too much noise and haste often crowd out my inner wisdom, my inner sage, which is the place of all inspiration.
The dictionary defines inspiration as: ‘the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, or a sudden brilliant, creative or timely idea’.
What’s hard about inspiration is that you can’t just summon it at will. You must wait for it, and all too often we just don’t have the patience to allow inspiration to flow.
Motivation, on the other hand, is what causes us to act, the reasons for acting, or a stimulus, incentive, or drive to do something.
I’ve been thinking about the difference between when I feel inspired and when I am motivated. I’ve come to see that when I can wait for inspiration, hear it and then take action, I usually feel better and better things happen.
When I’m motivated to do something, there may or may not be any accompanying inspiration. Often there is not…it’s me pushing for something that I want. And it doesn’t feel as good. Often it feels like hard work, it can feel aggressive, it can feel, well, pushy.
I much prefer the easy allowing that inspiration provides.
Try this ONE thing
Consider when was the last time you acted on inspiration. How did that feel? Did you notice a difference compared to when you are acting on motivation? I’d love to hear your insights.
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