8 Steps for Acting on Inspiration
Success February 26th, 2009This is a continuation from this short 3 part series on inspiration. My original guest post called, “8 Steps to Inspire Others ” and my last article, “8 Methods to Find Inspiration ”. I hope this helps you find ways to spin your inspirations into action.
Research and Learn the Subject
Obviously I’m a big proponent to learning and so learning more about any subject or person that inspires you is a great starting point for activating your mind on the subject. Once you activate your mind by learning more about the subject and by thinking more about it, it will more easily lead into action in your life. If you can excite your mind and generate more and more interest in doing something, then the actions come much easier later on.
There is a definite balance here to maintain between too little time before action and too much. That point will not be equal for everyone and I think it needs experimentation to realize. If you spend all your time learning about a subject and don’t take any action, then the learning can be more of the inspiration than the action and when it does come time to take actions, then the learning component is greatly reduced. On the other hand, if you take action without knowing anything about the subject, it’s possible to cause more harm than good by either frustrating yourself or in some cases causing emotional, physical or relational pain because of the actions you took without understanding them well. Balance this by knowing at least enough about what new things you are getting into and find the right people to help or guide you and you can make the learning experience align with the actions you take keeping the inspiration that drives it satisfied and in balance.
Connect with Others
A great way to act on inspiration is to look to share and connect with others that have similar interests and activities. As I outlined in the finding inspiration article, this strengthens the inspiration and gives you people to talk with and share more experiences about the events that drive this.
These connections can easily develop into closer relationships and friendships and these will give you friends and colleagues to act out your inspiration with. You can use each other and work together to achieve the results you want in this related area.
Ask For and Accept Help
Connecting with others is great when perfectly aligned as your energy and synergy can be very motivating, but that is not enough with inspiration. Inspiration is about change and new things, so there are always areas you will face that will be a challenge to act on. This is where these connections come in as you now have people to ask for help when you need it. They can guide you in areas they are stronger at and they can encourage you to drive through challenge far more than you could tackle on your own. Don’t be afraid to ask for help already , and then be willing to accept it. Accepting it is the part that means action and there is no exception with that here.
Do the same for others by helping where you can you will continue to promote your inspiration not only in yourself, but also in those learning from you.
Take Action Soon
Don’t wait too long to take action towards something that inspires you. I already mentioned the item of learning and researching a subject, but there’s more than that. Often people are afraid to do something because it is so grand or noble or simply outside their comfort zone. It can be the simple things that as an action, shift from from a wisher on inspiration to an actor on inspiration.
Look at the things that inspire you from the first section on finding your inspiration and pick some action to do more of that or to begin implementing one of these items in this article to make it real. A small step today that gets you closer just lets you take a bigger one tomorrow and it will send you down the path towards the results you hope to achieve from whatever inspired you in the first place. If it is a person that inspires you, then contact them. You’d be surprised how easy this can be, even if they are busy people, famous or in some other way, hard to reach. People who inspire others, do so because of connections and they know this, so will generally be happy to talk to you, to help or to at least give you some direction to get you started.
The sooner you start doing something real with your inspirations the sooner you will gain the results hoped for. This enables you to then move on to new inspirations or to grow the original one with more intensity, more importance and dedication in your life.
Visualize Results
Action is definitely more important to take than this step, but this one can give you nearly all the same benefits when the action is simply not possible yet or because of where you are. The imagination of the mind is a wondrous thing, it simply doesn’t know the difference between what is imagined and what is real. This gives you a fantastic ability to experience achieving what you want from these inspirations even when you are not doing an real actions on them. There have been countless studies and brain research conducted about how the mind’s imagination can be used to become stronger, more creative, confident and even better at actions when they are finally performed for real either the first time or after many repetitions.
If you add visualizing your results into your steps for acting on inspiration, you will see the benefits without the practice. Beyond this, it also helps you to realize what your true desired outcomes are as you can imagine it before it happens. This visualized results can be a strong motivator to take even more action!
Be Persistent
I’ve touched on persistence before in my productivity series, and it is just as valuable here. Persistence is about being headed in the right direction , making progress in that direction and consistently steering your actions toward your goals. Since taking action on inspiration will always be in some way challenging, it’s important to accept setbacks and failures along the way. If you learn from those, get back up and be persistent by trying again, you will make great progress and eventually be where you want to be. You can’t let a setback stop you!
Set Goals
All of this is based on getting somewhere new with inspiration and so you can’t do that without some goals in mind. It may be some new ability to learn, material possessions, or a special talent or ability, no matter what it is, you won’t easily get their without setting some goals for guidance. Goals are a brilliant tool if used well and typically abysmal failures if not understood well or planned properly.
Your goals must connect to something with meaning in your life. Luckily this topic of inspiration largely addresses this as inspirational expectations are usually seated in something already important to a person.
Goals must also be measureable. This inherently makes them something you need to consider and be realistic with as you will have to have a way to measure it. Something to count, to see or specifically identify and recognize. Go ahead and set audacious goals but if you do, ensure you can easily recognize progress and keep driving forward. If you struggle with goals, be a little less aggressive and set easier goals to train yourself and gain some ground with accomplishment while acting on your inspirations.
Also, ensure your goals are time based with specific dates so that you can focus on them and know when they need to be checked, changed and rewritten. Don’t leave your goals to be static. Taking on a challenge with something that inspires you will be new, and so will the goals so you can’t expect to set them early and never need to adjust them along the way. Go ahead and drive towards them, work hard to reach them but don’t worry if they need to be adjusted along the way.
Be Enthusiastic
I just love this one! It is so powerful and yet so under used by people who want to act on something that inspires them. Even more of a crime is when people are inspired by another person, and that person is extremely enthusiastic yet that doesn’t seem obvious to the person looking to then act on that enthusiasm. Well, I can tell you, if you put more enthusiasm into your actions, you will make much faster progress. Enthusiasm will build confidence as well and it automatically attracts others and inspires them to find out more. Wouldn’t that be impressive to act on an inspiration and take it full circle, by inspiring someone else with the same thing! I think so!
Not only will enthusiasm drive even more inspiration but it will help to engrain deeper beliefs in your mind. Energy and excitement in the mind build stronger neural connections with new activities and things you learn so that enthusiasm can slowly turn into a deeper passion or conviction. This will ensure you lock in place the beliefs needed to act on that inspiration at any time. The passion will become stronger and in turn, that will continue to then be something you express, where once again you’ve come full circle as you begin to inspire others with it.
Prev: 8 Methods to Find Inspiration
Next: Avoiding Some Dangers of Goal Setting
February 27th, 2009 at 3:11 AM
Wonderful post to read Mike,
Interesting dichotomic analogy between learning and taking action Mike. Like you mentioned, its a fine line between the two, which leads back to the overall theme of “balance”.
It is humbling and gracious when lending a hand. You also become a bigger person by letting go of your ego and ask for help as well.
I am also a huge advocate of persistence. Never ever give up. Change your pattern of actions or procedures in order to obtain the “result” that you desire.
You did not fail…you just did not get the result you expected.
Visualizing is very important, I believe it helps to make your dreams and goals more tangible and achievable. I read your bio Mike…I am sure that you can agree that visualizing is crucial since you are a fellow 3D artist. 😉
I believe our entire life consists of setting small and big goals:
from going to schools, to finding a job, buying the next best gizmo, establishing your own family…the list goes on.
It is important to remember that goals exist if “we” decide to place “importance and meaning” to them. If we do not, then achieving our goals will not be as sweet and satisfying.
Motion creates emotion…keep up your inspirational momentum with lots of enthusiasm.
February 27th, 2009 at 6:57 AM
Vincent, thanks for such a wonderful and complete response. I love you pointing out the humbling nature of lending a hand. I think this is such an overlooked behavior it leaves a lot of egos running people’s lives (especially with possessions).
3D is definitely what has developed my “3D” visualization. I visualize something in 3D from just a simple sketch, drawing or even an idea quite naturally. That obviously helps with visualizing concepts for change as well.
Change happens and goals make it guided. I’m shocked at how some people write that goals are NOT worth doing, as they are absolutely the best technique to master if you want to have effective results. There is plenty of research and numbers to back that up as well even if I had not experienced first hand to know so.
Great stuff Vincent, appreciate the meaningful feedback and looking forward to seeing more of what you have to write at your new blog!
February 27th, 2009 at 7:07 AM
Many people forget the foundation for acting on inspiration. I’ve been seeking some experts in the field that I’m trying to break into. The ones who’ve responded back have been a huge help.
It’s all about persistence. When someone tells you they will call me back and a week has passed, they get another call from me. I think as long as you are kind, smart and a little annoying (because you don’t give up) then they will come around and give you some attention.
February 27th, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Excellent article Mike! I really appreciate the logical progression of these 8 steps. The word “soon” is a key aspect of taking action. If we linger too long in the previous steps, inspiration can easily become academic instead of motivational. Learning to move quickly and purposely from inspiration to action is one of the things that separates the achievers from the rest of the crowd.
February 27th, 2009 at 7:33 PM
Another solid set of insight on channeling inspiration to harness results. 😉 Keep up the great work.
February 27th, 2009 at 11:51 PM
Thanks for the comments here guys and your added points of interest and experience on the topic. Its much appreciated!
February 28th, 2009 at 6:44 PM
Another excellent post; great work!
The way I see it, people begin to work on their goals when one of these things happen; they either decide to pursue them (your article is without a doubt a invaluable aid in that process), or they reach a sort of “breaking point” that gives rise to a renewed sense of determination, and go after what they want.
There are certain things you addressed that I really connected with. Visualizing is great advice; always want to keep the goal in mind. And Enthusiasm, while it can be real hard to conjure up some days, really keeps the fire alive.
I could say more but you’ve just hit it right on target; just keep on writing; it’s good stuff.
March 1st, 2009 at 8:02 AM
Hi Mike, I agree with your thought and I want to emphasize the ‘take action’ point. I think this is the problem of most people. It is hard to get out the comfort zone. Your article is enlightening, Mike.
Thanks for sharing.
March 1st, 2009 at 1:08 PM
You’re very welcome Mike and I would love to see some of your 3D work one day 🙂
I’m thinking of making a post especially for talented artists out there and give them a chance to share their artistic blogs (you included of course)
(Karl Staib)- I like how you emphasized having people should have an inspirational “foundation”. Ever thought, every creation, every theory comes from strong fundamental foundations.
I like being persistence as well…”pleasantly persistent”
(Jonathan)- I agree with your point Jonathan and that is why it is so important to keep the “momentum” going once its started.
(G)- How many “breaking points” would a person go through in a life time, in order to grow and move on?
(Arswino) – Yes I agree “it is hard to get out the comfort zone” for people is because we are so caught up with our daily routines and we also get lazy, comfortable and complacent.
March 1st, 2009 at 8:45 PM
These steps help put the law of attraction into action. Great list.
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:49 AM
Your article and insights are definitely enlightening.I agree when you said you emphasized the word enthusiasm into your actions, you will make much faster progress.Positivity is the key to positive outputs.
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:45 AM
Very inspiring and encouraging. I have to say that those are the qualities that I hope to have so that I would remain firm with the goals I’ve set for this year and the years to come. It is quite a challenge but I’m hopeful.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:03 AM
While reading your post I just burn with joy. Thank you for the wonderful post.
“Connect with Others” … While that relates to us all, it expresses the crucial problem in the life of people with the disabilities. The kind of communication we have is the powerful healer.
Your post depicts the main goals of our art therapy club http://trustlight.blogspot.com/ Everything else is just technicalities. Let me invite you to Modus Vivendi. The art colors sparkle on everything that was touched by the love.
My own heart blossom out with the gratitude while reading your post. I hope that will find its reflection as on my blog http://artmirror.blogspot.com/, as in each single step I will make as in blogging, as in everyday life.
June 21st, 2009 at 7:04 AM
[…] 8 Steps for Acting on Inspiration (LearnThis.ca) Related Posts:Demotivate Yourself Now – Part 2Demotivate Yourself Now – Part 5Demotivate Yourself Now – Part 4 […]
December 19th, 2010 at 2:46 PM
I have to agree with the enthusiasm part. It is sometimes hard to have enthusiasm for the things we have to do to get to where we want to be, but we have to focus on the big picture.
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:55 AM
You have some great lines in here! I really liked “”Don’t wait too long to take action towards something that inspires you.” I am featuring that on my huge list of hobbies site. You can check it out here http://www.squidoo.com/the-world-s-biggest-list-of-hobbies
June 9th, 2014 at 12:56 PM
really cool page thanks