Week 17: We all need to be inspired in life
I initially started off this week’s story on the topic of whether “The grass is greener on the other side”. But my thoughts suggested otherwise.
In the past few weeks, through the chaos of juggling an internship and all the class preparation and assignment due dates, I actually found myself feeling a little uninspired to write. And I started questioning if I should just end this year-long series of stories.
But I didn’t want to give up, not just yet. “One more week, just another week,” I told myself. So for this week, maybe that’s exactly what I should write about — inspiration.
“Inspiration propels a person from apathy to possibility, and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities.” — Scott Barry Kaufman (HBR)
Have you ever spoken to someone, watched a theatre show, or seen a painting that made you swell from the inside with so much emotion, that you felt like you’d burst if you didn’t do something about it?
For me, that’s what inspiration feels like; it is what drives me to write, both music and words, and that’s what I spent most of my time doing growing up. Which is probably also the reason why I sometimes give off the vibe that my head is somewhere up in the clouds.
(But, I mean, why not? Clouds are pretty.)
But as I grew older, these moments of inspiration started coming to me less frequently. Was it a matter of external influence — would one have less headspace to be inspired when they’re in survival mode, less capacity to seek out the things that bring inspiration when they’re trying to fulfil the responsibilities of being an adult?
“Inspiration is not willed — it happens.”
According to an HBR article, inspiration:
- is the springboard for creativity
- facilitates progress toward goals
- increases well-being
But, more importantly, inspiration is not willed — it happens. And we can craft our environment to increase the likelihood of inspiration striking by keeping an open mind and seeking out people or things or situations that inspire us.
And for me, that used to be: watching the Sun set, reading a good book, walking out after a concert, seeing musical actors/actresses take a bow at curtain call, the inevitable goodbyes with people and places in life…
Maybe it’s time to intentionally put aside time to do all these things again.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll find a little spark of inspiration, somewhere, somehow. 🌟
