Tag: inspiration

YES you may. What are you waiting for?

Should I, should I not… sometimes we balance on the edge of the fence, and we sway back and forth, and then we don’t make a move. And nothing happens.

What are you waiting for? Do you need permission? Who do you need permission from?

We sometimes want the assurance of somebody to tell us things are going to be fine. That we will get there. That we are doing the right thing. A parental omniscient figure with wisdom that is ahead of our own.

As we grow older and more experienced, that person gets rarer and rarer to find (here is a secret: most other so-called adults are also winging it to some degree or another). At some point, this role of the one giving permission is one we have to start adopting ourselves. As the owners of our own lives, we can give ourselves permission. To dream big, to dream at all, to plan and to do. To possibly fail and to try again because the dream is still there. Even if it is a small experiment that brings reality and dream closer together. You may. This is not a dress rehearsal. This is all there is and things won’t implement themselves.

(I am not advocating risky behavior or to breaking rules, procedures and things like that. Personal responsibility applies (that is the adult bit…) I am gently inviting you to challenge an assumption you might have that might hold you back from taking steps to make changes in your life. Coaching can also help with that.)

Today’s value: Inspiration

The magical moment when the light bulb switches on in your head. When a few random, unconnected thoughts start forming a pattern and come together into something new entirely. And that sparks immense joy that wants to be shared with others.

For this to happen you need a good rhythm between input of all sorts (the more diverse and the more appealing to different senses the better), and lots of downtime in between to process, and for your brain to be idle enough to start forming new associations and connections. It is not a coincidence that people often quote “the shower” as a key place for inspiration. Or the morning run. Or knitting. Not being completely idle while you are running circles in your own head, but some light activity that is not in the way of deeper thinking. Like running or knitting.

We often overpower ourselves in our own lives with input, activity, sensory input. We don’t always allow ourselves the luxury of the more “empty”-looking processing time. This is key though. If you don’t refill this reservoir, you won’t be able to draw from it when you do need that key idea to tackle that problem. Entrepreneurship with its ethos of “the grind” and “the hustle” can be particularly susceptible to this I find. Your mind is one of your key resources – take good care of it!

Schedule some downtime where your senses can recover. A silent walk. A quiet slow dinner at candle light. Listening to some music without multitasking. A hot bath. A train ride without multitasking. A conversation with a friend. Visiting an art exhibition or a concert.

How do you take care of your inspiration? What are your own building blocks and how do you make sure they happen within your day, your week?

Check out the values worksheet here.
Or go deeper and get the book.
Or ping me about how coaching might help.