The Power Of Inspiration, The Muscle That Can Improve Our Lives

In a world obsessed with measuring ourselves by our training, skills and abilities, an exceptional dimension is overlooked: the power of inspiration. It would be interesting if we all value this ability a little more, this channel full of possibilities that allows us to become passionate, develop ourselves, expand perspectives and ignite the motor of motivation.

And you … what inspires you? When we drop this question on a person, not everyone has an answer. There is no shortage of those who indicate, almost to the second, that who inspires him is his partner, his children, his family. That is a good answer, it is true, but we can and must go a little further. Because, in reality, the ideal would be that every day we find new things capable of inspiring us.

Reading a book and a new song. A landscape suspended in a magical sunset. Meet someone and dazzle us with their speech, with their challenging ideas. A TED talk. An avant-garde building. Playing sports.

We could give a hundred or a thousand examples of dimensions, facts and circumstances capable of awakening the muses of inspiration, those that whisper ideas, goals and revolutionary dreams to us to fulfill.

Beyond what we can think, inspiration and, above all, feeling inspired every day is a way to invest in psychological well-being. Let’s see why.

The power of inspiration: why is it important in our lives?

Each of us has within us the power of inspiration. However, and here comes the problem, not all of us make use of it.

The reason? Feeling inspired is basically an emotional and mental state that requires a certain balance, a certain internal calm. Thus, a mind stressed or tinged with anxiety is rarely able to look at something to feel genuine curiosity, pleasure, inspiration and excitement.

A calm brain is much more receptive and this is how the seed of inspiration arises, and how we allow the Daimon of Greek mythology to visit us . This last concept, the daimon , was a term widely used in philosophy, and even Carl Jung himself spoke of it, defining it as our creative genius, as a force capable of guiding us towards our destiny.

Jung also indicated that, for our Daimon to emerge, it was necessary to listen to our heart, give priority to emotion and intuition. That is why, factors so common today, such as stress, rush, pressure and worries, do not leave room or entrance for that ancestral genius present in so many cultures.

The power of inspiration can improve your life

The power of inspiration is a concept that has been studied in depth by psychologists Todd M. Thrash and Andrew J. Elliot. Research works such as the one carried out in 2003, place this capacity as a very relevant psychological construct for our well-being. The reasons that justify it are the following:

• Inspiration gives us significance. That is, suddenly we have a moment of clarity where something attracts our interest and motivation. At the same time, consciousness expands into new possibilities. Not only are we ready to do something, but we are excited to do it.

• Also, inspiration generates what is known as focus motivation. It is that state in which the person knows well what he wants, what he wants to achieve or what has aroused his interest; it is focused on something very concrete, on a vision.

People who use inspiration in their day to day are different

The psychologists Thrash and Elliot explain in their work that people who make constant use of the power of inspiration share common characteristics. What’s more, to assess it, they even designed a scale to measure inspiration.

Let us therefore know what factors, behaviors and personality traits define who is used to applying this psychological construct.

• They present openness to experience. That is, they are men and women who interact with the environment, who interact, who like to experience new things, learn, feel …

• Likewise, inspiration does not always come while we are relaxed and almost motionless on the couch, awaiting the arrival of the muses. Inspiration comes with movement, with work, with that daily activity where everything flows and we are participants in each stimulus, each voice, sensation and image.
• Likewise, people who make use of inspiration have an intrinsic motivation. That is, they are not guided by rewards, they do not expect anything in return for their efforts. The mere fact of feeling, getting excited and generating changes through your inspiration is your greatest benefit.

On the other hand, there is an exceptional fact that we must bear in mind. One detail noted by Drs. Thrash and Elliot is that if we cultivate the power of inspiration, the mind becomes stronger. What does this mean? It means that we further develop creativity, attention, reflection, the capacity for achievement and self-competence.

All this reverts to our emotional well-being. The muscle of self-esteem is strengthened, and with it, everything works better, we feel more positive, ready and capable to transform our reality. And that is a formidable feeling.