Finding What Inspires You
January 24, 2012 in Inspiration Station
Photo by Kevin Davidson on Flickr
The first step in our week of congruent self development is really tapping into what inspires us. As someone who blogs to (hopefully) inspire others all the time, I find it quite hard to go in-depth into what inspiration is and how to find it. It’s a slightly “airy fairy” topic and everyone is very different. But damn it, I’m going to try!
Okay, why the emphasis on inspiration? Inspiration and the feeling of being inspired is what pushes us to do great things. It can come in so many forms – images, music, poetry, blogs, nature. No matter what form it takes, inspiration is what moves us to dream, to plan adventures and sparks the desire to move out of our comfort zone and learn or achieve something bigger. Inspiration can be that little nudge we need to turn a thought into an action.
Photo by Crystin Moritz on Flickr
How Do I Find It?
There are a vast number of ways to find inspiration. Everyone will have their own places, people, art or books that make them want to drop everything and do something incredible or wish to be something even better.
Some of my favourite sources are: autobiographies of incredible people, travelling and throwing myself into another culture, wandering around photography exhibitions, going for a quiet walk along the beach, tasting new culinary creations at restaurants I’ve never visited before, having long coffee dates with my friends, engaging with entrepreneurs and writers via Twitter and blogging, scouring weheartit for beautiful images, hearing new music for the first time, teaching people and listening to others talk about their inspiration.
I find that wandering is a great way to stumble upon inspiration. Find a cute little second-hand bookstore in your suburb, or take a road trip to a neighbouring city. Walk into a boutique that you’ve never ventured into before and chat to the owner about what inspired their designs.
Talk to people. Openly. Everyone wants to connect. They have a yearning to learn from others, to translate their achievements into lessons of their own, to adapt pieces of others’ stories and rework them into something that works for them. Listen to what people who inspire you have done, how they’ve done it and how you can learn from their mistakes and successes.
Be open-minded. Have you decided that you hate folk music, ten pin bowling or crocheted everything? Try to put your tastes out of your mind to expand your horizons. Sure, you might still hate MOST folk music, but there might be one song that speaks to you so deeply that it was worth the risk.
Keep your eyes up. I see so many people (myself included) with their heads in their phones, their headphones blocking our all “natural” noise or their concentration so focused on winning Angry Birds that they don’t absorb amazing things happening around them. Leave your phone at home when you go for a walk, listen to the music in the cafe (they might have a few gems) and take in your surroundings – some of the best inspiration is outside in the fresh air!
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Getting It Together
So how do we harness sources of inspiration? I’ve listed a few of my favourites below but would love to hear yours in the comments!
- Blogging. My blog is a collection of everything that is getting my creative juices flowing, all the ideas I’m pondering, links to people who are writing fantastic posts and photos that make me smile. Starting a blog can be a great way to collect everything together online – make it private if you don’t want to share it with the world, that’s okay too.
- Inspiration boards or journals. I love putting together inspiration boards – an assortment of pictures, words, quotes, fabrics, really anything you can think of that gives you an energy when you look at it. Perhaps yours is themed around colour, or travel or food. Display it somewhere that you’ll see it often to remind yourself of what makes you happy.
- Image bookmarking sites. If pictures are your thing, how about you sign up for an account on weheartit, Pinterest or Flickr to favourite images that spark interest in you. That way, they’re all saved in the same spot so you can go back to them any time you want.
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Use It
When you’ve discovered what inspires you, it’s time to use it! What is the general urge you get when you see/feel/experience these inspiring things? Does it make you want to backpack around Asia? Does it make you want to take a photography class? Perhaps it makes you want to run a marathon.
Whatever your sources of inspiration are telling you, write it down. Make a little list of the dreams that your sources of inspiration are pointing to. These are things that are important to you, things that drive your happiness. It’s necessary to discover these before you can live a congruent and aligned life.
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Photo by Jovena Damnjanovic on Flickr
What Inspires You?
I asked around on Facebook and Twitter, interested to find out what inspires the masses – here were a few ideas. Thank you to everyone who sent me theirs! x
Airdrie: Inspiration comes from lots of places! Some faves are art, old Hollywood, and vintage stores x
Anne Marie: Seeing people succeeding in something they love to do
Catherine: Surrounding myself with amazing, talented and motivating people inspires me. To have great people to go and spend the day at work with is amazing. And having my phone on silent all the time so I am not contactable all of the time x
Caz: Travel always inspires me. So I do it a lot.
Chris: Watching/seeing/listening to people excelling at what they are passionate about. Also, listening to a great orchestra perform a masterpiece of composition with a great trumpet section gets me every time!
Chris: I’ll be honest – I’m motivated by feeling like I’m working hard & money.
Elizabeth: Travel!
Fiona: Many beautiful things (flowers and sunshine). But mostly knowing people have read my writing/seeing my hard work pay off.
Jason: Amazing gardens, lush forests, green fields and music that resonates with my soul (or the other way round).
Rach: Passionate women. The internet. Long, deep chats with lots of gesticulating & laughter. Reading. Travel & exploration. My fiancé. My family. Blogging + connection. People already living their dreams, or taking steps to make them a reality. YOU! xoxo
Rachel: Having a project. Sunshine. Reading – taking time to stop – reminding myself that I don’t need to be connected 24/7. Writing down what’s really important to me. Cleaning(!) – always gets me in the mood to focus and get things done!
Shitika: Weather! Plays a HUGE role in inspiring me. I need sunshine and about 22-24 degrees :P
Suzanne: Easy – writers who are better than me. I am inspired by envy.
Vienda: Moments that stand out from the rest … usually something that gives a strong emotional reaction: nature, love, beauty etc.
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What a great and beautiful post, Miss Kimberlina – I found myself smiling and nodding throughout it.
As a streetstyle photographer who tries to make eye contact with people I’d like to photograph, I’m often close to tweeting in frustration: “when did we start smiling at the gadget in our fingers rather than folks we pass by in the street!? oh wait…”
And great point re WANDERING. one of my most favourite songs of all time is Lisa Mitchell’s “Time Means Nothing At All” that for me encapsulates the feeling of being on the verge of being lost but also open to discovery.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Cx
Thanks so much Cheryl, that’s so wonderful to hear (re the nodding and smiling)! Haha, yeah I often think about people no longer engaging with each other on the street. It’s sad, but at least we’re still engaging I suppose, just through online platforms more often that face to face interactions.
I’ll have to check out Lisa Mitchell’s song, sounds beautiful. Thanks for the comment. xx
Hey Kim, ever since reading your blog, I began to think about what inspires me. For a little while there I really wasn’t sure and that bothered me. The great thing was I began to tune in to experiences, people and events and consider what could be inspirational. What I have since found is that I am always inspired by people overcoming the most difficult of circumstances, some to save their lives, some to accomplish life long dreams, other sources of inspiration are people like you, making sacrifices and working hard to achieve their goals. My thanks to you for opening my mind and for a little piece of inspiration each time I read your blog.
Hi Jodi, thank you for your beautiful comment. You’re right in that sometimes it’s just about tuning in to the world around you and taking note of how things, situations and people make you feel. I am so thrilled to hear that I’ve helped, if even just a little. Thank you so very much. xx
Well inspiration makes people do different things since we are all different and express our individuality in different ways! So what’s sauce for the goose isn’t sauce for the gander. Cheers!
That’s very true AMA, that’s what is wonderful about inspiration! :)