More
specifically, I was considering what inspiration is, from where it originates, how long it lasts and why we seek it.
How often do
we hear of, or read about something we find ‘inspiring’? It may be a story of
survival, personal sacrifice, sporting endeavour or charitable pursuit.
We note it
at the time, feel good about the act of inspiration, vow to remember it but do
we actually ever draw upon it? The reality is, we just about always forget
about it and even less so, draw upon it.
I found the
story of Lance Armstrong to be inspirational. He contracted Cancer of the Brain
and Testicles, had surgery for both, achieved remission and returned to Professional
Cycling achieving 7 consecutive victories in the toughest annual sporting
contest of them all, Le Tour de France.
I wore his
yellow wrist band for many years and following open heart surgery, took on “Livestrong” as my moto . I heard an interview with him about his cancer battle and
he adopted a saying “You’ve got to be brave, you've got to be strong”. I also
borrowed this for my surgery and recuperation.
Was it
inspirational? Perhaps, but it certainly provided a focus, and it continues
to be a focus for me today.
The only
problem is, the whole Lance Armstrong story was based on a system of structured
cheating.
So, was the
inspiration or focus I took from him also a lie?
It was real
at the time as it is real now. In retrospect, it would not have mattered if the
phrase was said by the lady in the supermarket queue, the Dali Lama, Roger
Federer or the President of America (well, it would have mattered if it was the
current President but that is another matter altogether).
The point
is, inspiration comes from within. We all have it within us already, it is just
a matter of drawing on it.
The reality
is, we are each our own inspiration.
Our
challenge is to determine with honesty what is important and then to focus on
it. If we find a phrase, or create a phrase in order to remind us of what is
important and what our focus is, all the better.
We don’t need
external inspiration, just the tools to know what matters to ourselves,
uniquely. We also need the strength to avoid following the path we perceive
others see for us, which gets back to our individual and uniquely “own” focus.
So, be
inspiring, to yourself and your goals, your dreams. Given they are yours, only you
can inspire them and they are too important to delegate to someone else.
Inspiration - Own It
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