What do you do after you are inspired?

What do you do after you are inspired?

Article by Cynthia Chirinda

Every day, if we’re watching, we’re likely to see many things that impress us, move us, uplift us or that get us thinking in new directions. It’s relatively rare that we allow these experiences to create a direct and immediate change in our choices or our course of action. It’s rare that these experiences trigger us to manifest the new concept or motivation as part of our living, breathing reality.

That’s quite sad because ultimately, the things that we find inspiring are inspiring to us because they resonate with some internal value, priority or desire that wants to be heard and acted upon by us in a given moment.

Do you remember your “wow” moment of inspiration when you were so excited to turn that inspiration into tangible action? What happened after this exciting moment? Did you succeed to turn your inspiration into action?

There’s no shortage of potential inspiration.

When was the last time you were inspired by a person, idea or experience in a way that actually caused you to do something differently? What about that experience spoke to you?

If you regularly find yourself saying, “Oh, that’s so inspiring!” — and then continuing with your life unchanged, business as usual, I would like to challenge you this month to allow yourself to respond to a source of inspiration by embracing an action or choice you might otherwise not have pursued. I believe that you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.

How do we convert inspiration to action?

1. Create your inspirational journal

So, if you want to keep doing something about your current inspiration keep the sparkle of your inspiration by taking notes. Simply put, you need to do something more about what you have listened, watched or read. These notes will become your inspirational tool box. Whenever you need to become more inspired by something and turn the specific inspiration into the action, you can read your notes. This notebook will become your inspirational journal full of the inspirational ideas, quotes, or concepts important for what you want to embark on.

Be determined to becoming an active reader or listener. Don’t just watch that video or read that book, article or post without taking notes. The idea is to do more than read or listen to words on but to do something with those words.

2. Avoid Information Overload

Have you ever found yourself watching a YouTube video… and then another… and another… and the next thing you know, it’s been an hour and a half and you’ve done nothing but watch a whole collection of motivational videos?

Rather than spending 30 minutes flipping through loads of inspirational content, pick one message that really speaks to you. And use it. Get everything you can from it.

When it starts to lose its lustre, find another one. But in the meantime, don’t get caught up in information (or inspiration) overload. 

3. Break it Down into Small Manageable Steps

When motivation does hit, don’t waste it. Start planning – whether it’s a business plan or an exercise plan. What’s the next thing you need to do? Break it down into small steps to make it more manageable.

Then get to work. Begin the first step. You might be amazed by how much easier it is to start working when you have it all in front of you, broken into small and easy steps.

4. Change Your Perception

We live in an age of information overload. There are millions of blogs, millions of videos, and millions of books out there, all accessible with the click of a button. It’s not about how many books you read, audio programs you listen to, or videos you watch. It’s about what you do with that information. Inspiration and knowledge are tools. They don’t do anything if you don’t use them.

5. Build Your Commitment Engine

One of the biggest reasons why most people fail in turning their initial inspiration into action is because they are not committed to the things they want to do. How can you become committed to doing something? Build your commitment engine. Tell someone you can confide in that you will do something new related to your inspiration. If they really care about you, they will not expect to see the results but they will also hold you accountable.

It is highly likely that you get inspiration every day. But, how many times after you get inspired by the book, blog article, movie or meeting with inspiring persons you do something? The problem with inspiration is that many times, it stays as a feeling. It never becomes anything more. Not only that, inspiration can be like a drug. We’re constantly looking and looking for that high, that sublime feeling of motivation and invulnerability.

Yes, you need the inspiration, but it is only one sparkle or idea that will need to be used in the next steps of the whole process.

Cynthia Chirinda is an Organisational and Personal Development Consultant, a Life Coach, Author, and Strategist. Her recently published set of books, “You are Not Damaged Goods”,” speaks to matters that position individuals to Transition from Tragedies to Triumph, Reboot, Restart, Blossom and Flourish, to do great exploits beyond their worst experiences. Looking at improving your career, personal effectiveness, communication skills, relationships, focus, faith and happiness? Wholeness Incorporated Coaching offers you strategies you can implement today to review your progress and achieve your goals. E-mail: [email protected]. LinkedIn: Cynthia Chirinda. Mobile: 263 717 013 206. Website:www.cynthiac.net.