Be open to inspiration

Our focus when we apply the self motivation model is to increase the motivational impact of one of the three factors of motivation: vision, successability and environment. There are many ways to do this. Before I tell you about a strategy that is one of my favorites, let me encourage you to be an active participant in this process. As you become more aware of who you are and what motivates you, you will be creating your own strategies. You will come up with strategies that are super effective, that will turbo boost your motivation. As I discuss different strategies in this blog, always be thinking of ways you can modify the strategies, fine tune them, so they are more powerful for you.

The strategy I want to share with you today I call be open to inspiration. When you are open to the inspiration in your life it can impact any of the three factors. It might be an insight as to who you really are, and result in you making your vision more precise. You might be inspired as to how you can be more effective in the work you perform toward your vision, thereby increasing your successability, your confidence in your competence. Or it might be some way to change your environment, so it enhances your work in some way.

Inspiration means different things to different people, although the more I think about inspiration I’m convinced we are actually talking about the same thing; what differs among people is what we think the source of the inspiration is, where the inspiration comes from. Some people think the inspiration comes from the deep recesses of your brain. Others believe it comes from the universal mind, or higher consciousness. Others believe it is God speaking to them.

Whatever source you believe in , inspiration is generally perceived as an intuition or idea that just suddenly appears. It will often be a very creative idea, and it may be a solution to a problem you have been trying to solve for a while.

Sometimes inspiration will come with a loud announcement; the light bulb will go on and there is no way you could miss it. But just as often it will settle into your mind quietly, and if you don’t stop and appreciate it, you might just miss some idea that could really turn around your life.

Inspiration can strike at any time, in the middle of a traffic jam, while you are cooking dinner, or maybe even while taking a shower.

My inspiration frequently comes to me in the middle of the night, usually somewhere between 3 and 4 AM, when all I really want is to be asleep. When I was younger if inspiration struck at this time, I’d tell myself, “Hey, that’s a great idea. What a solution.” And then I’d roll over and go back to sleep. The next morning, or maybe the next evening when I was finally able to sit down to my computer to start on my work, the wonderful idea was just a hazy memory, usually very hazy.

After too many of these wonderful ideas were effectively rejected by me, because I considered sleep just too darn important, I realized I was throwing away some great stuff, so I put a pad of paper and a pen on the table by the side of my bed, and started writing stuff down. Sometimes I even get up, go over to my home office, start up the computer and spend 20 minutes getting it all down. Once I have emptied my mind through the key board, I am usually able to go right back to sleep. I’ve never regretted taking the time to write it down.

The strategy is simple, but powerful. When you become aware of that quiet small voice talking to you, take heed. It’s a gift. Don’t leave it under the tree.