Evaluate and commit to action
Release judgment on whether an idea is good or bad and be open to the inspiration to see where it takes you.
Our thoughts, emotions, moods and behaviors are all connected and often an idea you never expand on can lead to something great. It may take some evaluation before investing some time to see where your creation will lead but commitment is what will move and shape it into something more.
Committing to the next step is everything. Without commitment to action, the idea never becomes more and the path of the lives it may have impacted remain unchanged.
Several years ago, Angie was struggling as a young single parent. With most of her friends at a party while she is coming home to read bedtime stories; she began to feel isolated. Maintaining a full-time job, night classes and a child left little time for much else. Lack of support emotionally, was a challenge that gave her inspiration to help others.
Angie was inspired to create an environment of support for others like her. Her mind began to race with ideas of incorporating corporate sponsorship, support groups and a self-maintained community to create a Single Parent’s Campus with opportunities to easily create relationships where everyone was in the same place in their lives would truly be a gift.
Unfortunately, she never fully evaluated the inspiration to understand how she could implement this concept.
Therefore, she never committed to this inspiration that may have impacted so many lives. And while she is of course not obligated to take action on every inspired idea this would be something she would come back to over the years.
Sometimes you have to trust the process
As much as we would like to it is nearly impossible to force inspiration. If an inspired idea is meant to be sometimes waiting is the best advice. “Let it simmer.” Ideas may come flooding in so fast you feel almost obligated to act on them. In some cases, the idea may be just a glimpse of something. A glimpse of something you know you will create and share somehow, someday.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, I renewed a creative side of myself and while I experienced many inspired moments there was one in particular that stood out. I had a fleeting idea inspired not necessarily by an unlikely source but in an unlikely way. It came to me only as a title of a blog, article, essay, or something. At the time I was unsure. I did not see a clear vision of how I would create the final piece but simply a concept I compelled to create. And so I had to let it simmer which was one of the hardest things I had to learn.
Trusting the process is referred to a lot in coaching. Being open to what comes, recognizing thoughts and feelings and dancing in the moment.
I found a place where I felt inspired and was mindful that I was needed a new source of inspiration. And to illustrate my own journey into coaching my inspiration I would like to share and idea where I had to recognize the source and trust the process until I was able to commit to investing time to share my thoughts on unconditional love with the world.
What if we could wag our own tails?
“Let me first tell you about my inspiration. What seems like yesterday but was actually several years ago I feel in love at first sight. There was this incredibly sweet angel of a spirit that captured my soul within seconds. I am of course; talking about my beloved dog which is twelve pounds of bark, bone and sass but with what you could swear was a hundred pound heart and this uncanny ability to prove time and time again his capacity for unconditional love.
You hear it a lot, the story of a dog rescued from less than lovable conditions and the person will undoubtedly say the dog rescued them. I truly think it can be both.
So this dog of mine has for the past few years never strayed far from my trail and patiently waits for me at every turn. On this particular day with a clear mind he greeted with love but somehow was different. I am still not sure if it was his puppy dog face or my clear head or both but an idea leap into my heart.
With the innocent flare of the wag of his tail I was inspired. I thought to myself if we as our pure selves can harness the capability to store unconditional love in our hearts for others, why does it seem so hard to share that with ourselves? Is that love for our own self-worth, our own physical and mental health, for mind, body and soul there somewhere underneath? I believe it is. So what would that look like; unconditional love for ourselves? What if we could wag our tails?
In the coaching world this can be many things big and small and for most it may start with a simple act of kindness. Becoming self-aware and learning to acknowledge our strengths and even our less than perfect sides we try to hide can be the tools we use to achieve this spiritual awakening.
Knowing ourselves and being comfortable is not to say we should not strive to become a better, more aware, more enlightened version of ourselves. This concept of unconditional love for who we are is about first finding something, uncovering the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful and celebrating all of those things.
So how do go about this quest to wag our own tails? For all of us it will be different. It will happen in our own time and space with celebrations and doubts along the way.
The key is to just keep going. Find those things in which you can celebrate. Start with the small ones and build your confidence. Tackling the little rations can fuel the confidence you need to keep going and strive for more. This can generate those “happy” feelings that will encourage you to seek out those which can build on your new found appreciation. Simply put; love something about yourself today, right now.
Do you think my dog spends his days thinking to himself “My thighs are too big” or “My legs are too short”? He does not spend his energy over analyzing whether his bark was loud enough or the fact that he loses his hair on a regular basis. He is sleeping, storing his energy to greet me when I get home, to bait me into a playful run around the house, to make sure he can wag his tail and wear his heart on his sleeve. His mind is free from distractions.
If we can quiet our minds, close our eyes and look within we will find a reason to love something about ourselves. The trick with this is of course to learn to do this daily. To build on this simple self-appreciation that we perform so consciously so this can eventually become a natural part of us.
When we can focus on the positive pieces of who we are, build on the strength as if it were a muscle only then can we tackle the business of becoming better. We need this, for some of us, to merely survive but for others to improve those less than perfect sides of ourselves with an open heart, mind and an unconditional spirit.”
In my personal story illustrated above, I am inspired to shift my perspective not only on how I feel about myself but about how I have learned to coach my inspiration.
Inspiration feels like freedom. Some call it a sense of wonder, a burst of energy, the urgency of ideas all of which gives us a feeling of freedom to create. Anything is possible. This is what compels us to take action, make change and move us forward in our work and our lives. Inspiration is many things to many people. It is a song, a book, a movie, a character, an animal, the blue sky, the new day, emotion, a challenge, a celebration. And using coaching tools, techniques, and questions can help keep you inspired, creating and impacting lives around you.
Here are some questions you may ask yourself to practice coaching your inspiration and keep that feeling of freedom to create:
Coaching your inspiration, like many coaching concepts, takes practice and will be unique to each individual. And these coaching tools can be learned and used through self-application or within a coaching relationship.