Capitalize on Inspiration
Have you ever had a moment of inspiration? Maybe it was listening to a brilliant lecture or presentation. Maybe it was in the shower or at the gym. Maybe it was when you witnessed somebody overcome incredible obstacles. Maybe it occurred when you saw the beauty of our world, like it did for me when I took this picture from the Getty Center.
Is it not such a great feeling? You have a great idea, a new motivation to complete a project, or a desire to make things right in your life.
Why then do we continually let those moments slip by without any results? I have thought a lot about this in my own life. I am so often disappointed in my lack of follow through. Many times I have day-dreamed late into the night, only to wake up the next morning and dismiss the ideas.
After much consideration, I think one of the chief reasons we do not follow through is our fear of failure, and, more specifically, our fear of being like others who have failed. Let me explain.
In our moments of inspiration we let our minds run wild. We imagine that when we start the new workout plan, we will almost instantaneously look like we should be on the front of a magazine. We compare ourselves to our idols and dream of being like them. However, when we actually think about going to the gym, we picture the guy who is clearly out of shape and has no idea what he is doing at the gym. We begin to associate our efforts with him, rather than our idol.
We lose all motivation to actually pursue the goal we set in our moment of inspiration because we decide that it is a silly goal. Why would we want to go to the gym if we are just going to make a fool of ourselves?
Our reasoning here is correct. There would be no reason to go to the gym if our end result was to be like the novice. Therefore, we must train ourselves to look back toward the object or the people that inspired us in the first place. If we can remember why we are at the gym and that our actions are progress toward our ultimate goals we might be able to cling to some of our initial inspiration. If our minds are focused on becoming like great people, we can reason that temporary embarrassment, failure, and extreme pressure is worth it in the end.
When I first thought about starting this blog, I was inspired by writers like Jim Collins, Mark Suster, and G.K. Chesterton. As I began to write, it was clear that I was not close to being the writers that any of them are. My thoughts drifted to every piece of bad writing I had ever read. I thought about all the people who have fallen on their face pretending to be more intelligent than they are. I feared I was exactly like them.
Every week I have to fight off these thoughts. If I do not, I am paralyzed and have trouble finding the confidence to share my writing. This is not to say that I will never write something stupid or arrogant, or that we will never look out of place in the gym. Instead, we must remember that our failures are not final. We are in pursuit of greater heights. Do not let yourself dwell on the discouraging examples. Our inspiration is to be like great people. Keep them near the front of your mind to capitalize on moments of inspiration.