So here before us is the chicken and egg question… Do you have to be inspired to take the first step or can the first step be taken to bring forth inspiration? In other words, can you move forward without the feeling in order to create the feeling? The short answer is yes…and no.
Imagine yourself having a goal in mind and yet feeling completely uninspired, not driven and apathetic towards its fruition. For example, you’d like to have a clean house and you have company coming for the weekend, and yet you can’t bring yourself to pull the vacuum cleaner out of the closet. What’s a girl to do?
Some would say that you “suck it up”, “be adult about it” and “just do it”…like a robot. Others would suggest that you create a mental list of all the good reasons for doing the thing you don’t want to do and this will bring the inspiration. Still others would say to not do it at all, and justify the non-action with the fact that if they’re really your friends then the state of your house won’t matter.
So what are the scenarios? If you try first to be inspired in your mind, you may find that the task becomes a joy and a blessing. You may find that the love that flows through you as you dust, scrub and vacuum becomes a sort of prayer or celebration. You may find this hard to believe when it comes to housework, but I have found that no matter the task -even housework – it actually does happen.
On the other hand, if you start to do the thing without the inspiration, the quality may suffer and you may become resentful or even angry. Your feelings will revert to whatever your natural “go to emotion” is. You may even begin to have second thoughts about your company and project your resistance to cleaning upon them and start to resent the fact that they are coming. This may sound extreme, and yet it is possible. It is more likely though, that you will see the house becoming clean and light and you will become inspired along the way and you will begin to see your clean house as a gift to your guests as well as yourself.
So, is inspiration necessary? Is it vital to the completion of a task? No. But it definitely makes the task easier, more fruitful and more fun. And in fact, inspiration can happen along the way as long as we direct our thoughts to the highest and best good of a thing.
When you need inspiration, here are a few things you can do:
1. Make music. Literally turn on some music or sing a song that makes you feel good. Music is a universal and emotional communicator and whatever feelings you have around a piece of music will invoke those feelings in you whenever you hear it.
2. Make the time valuable. Listen to an audio book or some lessons of a teacher you’d like to hear. If you don’t have some CD’s, YouTube is a great source for all sorts of teachers on any topic you can imagine.
3. Picture the desired result. Look around you and picture the way you would like things to be. Imagine you and your guests enjoying the space together and sharing laughter, love and great conversation. Creating a visual image is one of the fastest and best ways to make the thing happen in reality.
4. Share the load. There’s no law that says you have to do it alone. Is there someone else who will benefit from the doing of the thing? Ask them to help and you will find inspiration and have fun as you do the task together.
5. Decide to have fun with it. It is truly your thinking mind that guides your feelings about a thing, so be conscious of your thoughts as you do the thing in front of you. If you find yourself feeling resentful, direct your thoughts to the result, not the task at hand.
At the completion of your task, be sure to relish the final product of your efforts and your thoughts. Bask in the cleanliness, the completion and the beauty. This will keep the inspiration going far beyond your visit and will you will be able to call upon this feeling of success and joy the next time around. It will be easier and easier for you to become inspired to do a thing especially after you have the actual experience of feeling the joy.
YOU are the creator of your inspiration, and you do it with your thoughts. Never underestimate the power of inspiration.
Now, that’s Powerful!
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