March 25, 2019
We all seek inspiration. Sometimes, it finds us. Inspiring people is a difficult art, but being inspired is relatively easy. That’s an interesting irony.
We’ve all attended seminars, professional conferences, personal retreats, workshops and the like. Inspiration is a cottage industry. We leave with goosebumps, vows, and resolutions. But what really happens? All too often we sink back into our daily efficiencies and the inspiration wears off. The most difficult challenge of inspiration is channeling it. How do you take that one percent and leverage it? What does Edison’s 99 percent really mean? This post is the first in a series to help you understand that.
Adjust Your Behavior
Inspiration has provided your “attitude adjustment.” Now, what are you going to do about it? How do you activate your inspiration – channel it? Does your newfound purpose require a greater time commitment? Then begin your work an hour earlier, extend it an hour later, or both. Does it require sharper concentration? Then eliminate the distractions. Turn off your email (the greatest distracter). Log out of social media. Hide your cell phone. Don’t get caught up in the minutiae. Think macro, not micro. Whatever it is, take tangible steps to improve your focus.
Change Your Process (and then stick to it)
Is there anything more counterproductive to inspiration than the sentiment, “This is the way
we’ve always done it?” The fear or unwillingness to explore new processes is an inspiration-
killer. Flexibility requires change. Change implies risk. So let’s not just talk about change…
Rethink Your Resources
This is change in action. Assess your relationships and systems. Rethink how you accomplish something by confronting obstacles and what you need to accomplish to overcome them. Do the due diligence and then have the courage to act. In the land of inspiration, there are no sacred cows, just workhorses.