Living Inspired - How to find inspiration in your life

31 May 2008

Finding Inspiration

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Inspiration

Inspiration, What’s the Secret?

I’ve often wondered where my own inspiration comes from. There are times when I’m lit on fire with inspiration, so much so that I just cannot keep up with the ideas that keep flowing. Then there are times where I’m dragging and at a lack for real inspiration; the kind that inspires you to create until you are exhausted. I’ve been thinking about this lately, and I think I’ve at least buttoned down a few principles to being inspired.

A healthy body and mind, free of pollutants and kept in motion, can produce amazing inspiration. For instance, I am a runner/triathlete and I have often found massive pools of inspiration during a workout, after a workout, or as a result of a workout. I think part of this probably has to do with keeping your body fresh and your brain firing efficiently. I eat healthy and I live healthy and it wasn’t until I made those changes that I really began to live an inspired life.
I keep a variety of interests and try to spend as much time as I can feeding them all. For instance, I love reading about a variety of topics (business, programming, technology, religion, history, etc) and reading really helps renew my idea pool. I’ve found that if I devote too much time to one thing, then I end up burning out and losing all traces of motivation and inspiration.
Habits rule the world of inspiration. Falling into the same patterns will create a stale and repetitious lifestyle. When you wake up, don’t immediately do what you did the day before, instead go a different direction. When you feel an urge to do something habitual, try another route. Just this act of consciously behaving differently than your instinct will break the patterns that put you into a dry spot to begin with. It really is amazing how this works.

In the end there are a variety of other ways to become or stay inspired…some may work for you while others may not. However, if you are actively mindful of the patterns or behaviors in your own life that nourish creativity and inspiration, then maybe you can find what best works for you. When you find out, let me know. Maybe a inspiration conference will be in order.