Your creative energy is born from inspiration. If you want to produce results and you want to be the leader in your field, inspiration is crucial for getting you started. Motivation will keep you going and execution will support you finish your goal but it all begins with being and staying inspired (1).
If you ever worked hard and long enough on a specific job or project you probably know that success isn’t about hard execution and pushing yourself to meet goals and deadlines. The value of work is in being inspired, manifesting your ideas, creating reality and getting new insights along the way.
This is because we, as humans have a soul.
Intentionally Inspired
In order to take control over the amount of inspiration you experience on your life’s journey you will need to get yourself intentionally inspired. Yes, it is possible.
“Intentionality fuels the master's journey. Every master is a master of vision.” -George Leonard, Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment
Besides a powerful vision that pulls you forward you need some solid habits to support and fuel your soul along the way. You can’t go the entire way on the initial amount of inspiration that motivated you to make the first move. You need to recharge yourself daily and keep your physical and mental environment clean and receptive to your “soul whispers.”
Secret of the Successful
While various personality factors can affect the level of success people achieve in their personal or professional lives there is no single “successful personality” that has shown to exist (2). We can’t seem to distinguish that personality because it doesn't matter who the successful as people but what is does matter is what they do. Their behaviour. Their routines.
What successful have in common is powerful habits that keep them fuel with inspiration and keep them going no matter what.
Conclusion: Habits are the crucial component of creating a satisfying world for yourself and everyone involved.
More Reasons Why Habits Matter
As we get older and get to have the choice in how we want to live our life habits start to matter more than ever. No parents or older siblings around to tell us what to do. No reminders about
brushing our teeth or doing our homework. We need to do take full responsibility for ourselves and sometimes that doesn’t play out well. Especially in one particular area. Being responsible for making our dreams come true.
When we dream about our ideal life we often forget that our habits can turn our dreams into reality (3). If we develop the habits that nurture us and keep us inspired we stand a much better chance in creating that fulfilled life than if we are lazy and “feed” the unproductive habits.
Productive and Destructive Habits
When we look at our behavior it is clear that we all have some kind of habits. They are already there are we keep investing in them. The question is: in which habits do you invest?
Your health, money management, productivity, organisation skills and relationships might be full of unproductive habits that can be harmful to your levels of inspiration and your overall satisfaction in life. Discover them and decide that you deserve better.
Short term vs. Long Term Inspiration
Inspirational events are fantastic but unfortunately not enough. Powerful events have a short term impact on our life but habits don’t. Going on “Date with Destiny” or running a New York marathon and completing it alive is going to be a great boost of inspiration but this isn’t going to keep you going for ever. Use extraordinary inspiration for deep insights, exploration and breakthrough and keep investing in creating your habits.
How long does it take to develop a Habit?
Ok, so you got it- now just do these 4 habits and you’ll be sorted.
Would be great if it was that easy, right?
Developing and maintaining productive habits isn’t always a walk in the park. While it is easier to “get at it” while you are young, it is never too late and you shouldn’t use age as an excuse (4). In terms of time, depending who you ask, a habit takes from 21-66 days to develop. In fact it doesn't even matter, doesn’t it? You will be doing this for the rest of your inspired life anyway 😀
Habit 1 : Detoxify your Day
Keep your physical and mental environment clean and clear at the best of your ability.
Except in the rare cases of geniuses with the compulsive need for chaotic environments to fuel their creative energy, most of us need a neat and organized space that enables us to focus. Minimalism and decluttering are good friends with attention and inspiration.
Detoxify your day also refers to eliminating toxic situations from your life. This includes, people, relationships and yes unfulfilling careers too. Inspiration is connected to the most vulnerable and sensitive part of yourself- your soul. Suffering and struggle just don’t help you be in spirit.
If you notice that there is toxicity in your life you need to be sensitive to that. When you enjoy good well-being and live in tune with life you able to achieve much more. Your inspiration thrives in healthy environment.
It is hard for us to separate from harmful people and situations as we are taught to be nice and lolay. We need break through those limiting behaviours and to cut people out that poison us (5). If we recognize that the toxic person is a someone very close to us then we need to set firm boundaries.
Habit 2: See Your Life as A journey
When we set a “big goal” and work towards it we can’t expect to always make the rights steps. In fact it is inevitable that mistakes will be made. Mistakes are not what keeps us from progressing but the feeling of being stuck and struggling. As mentioned earlier inspiration doesn't do well in that kind of environment. When you reach what it seems to be a “dead end” or “a marry go round” you need to -back up and try again.
You are on a journey, your life is not a short sprint and you didn’t loose already. You are alive and learning, allow that to be your reality.
You might believe that you are not in the position to follow your vision and create your dream life. You might feel completely stuck in your situation. Paying your mortgage, bills, student loan or thinking about the future in terms of pension, the golden years that await you.
This is a common trap that people fall into and as a result continue living an unsatisfying life. If you can relate to that, take a moment to look at the other people who embraced their journey. How do they navigate their way? What objectivity do they have that you maybe lack? Are they willing to own up to their mistakes? What insights they got from doing so? Are you willing to look at yourself closely and to be brave enough to accept your life as a journey.
If yes you will stand a much better chance in staying inspired when the going gets tough.
Every step matters. Keep going.
Habit 3: Pump up your Personal Power
How do some people manage to do inspired actions on a long-term level while others give up fairly quickly?
Several studies in the field of psychology (see Bandura et al., 1996), sports psychology in particular point out that people who are devoted and dedicated to a “process” on the long term commonly show the following characteristics. They are:
-intrinsically motivated- this means that they get their motivation from the internal factors such as sense of service and joy instead of money and fame for example which would be external motivators
-in control of their life (have an internal locus of control): they have a clear understanding that their health, love life, finances, happiness are in their own hands and they live accordingly.
– self-worthy: going a step further the long-term inspired don’t only think that they are in control of their life but that the inspired actions that their are doing are taking them in the right direction. They are confident about their journey and their capacity to follow through. They believe they are doing good things in a good way.
These 3 characteristics are in the core of every individual who embraced his/her personal power and decided to practice it daily.
Few wisdom words from the intentionally empowered
Nothing is a random event causing you to fail. If you decide to change you can change (6). People who don’t believe that are often less happy, less motivated, less healthy and incapable to face many challenges. Set goals that are reachable and achievable and follow with committed action, In time you will develop confidence can build momentum needed for reaching any goal you set for yourself.
Habit 4: Toughest Tasks First
Do the hardest task in the morning. Don’t wait for inspiration to come to you. At the start of the day you are refreshed and ready to go, you have clarity so it is easier to do the hardest task before you long day exhausts you. Morning routine is perfect for this. Do you have one already?
To support yourself staying inspired even more make your evening as easy as possible. Figure out how to set the end of the day and avoid making poor choices. When your energy gets depleted doing things that require inspiration and willpower is going to be a disaster are disappointing.
Tiny habits every day will make a huge difference in your levels of inspiration over time.
Stay in spirit, stay persistent.
You can do it-we know you can.
(Read this next: How to Find Inspiration When You Are Stuck (4 Steps))
