Staying Inspired: Do leaders really motivate us and is that enough?

By Jasmine Kalra

Most people get their inspiration from successful people – a great leader, a successful entrepreneur, perhaps a celeb with a huge fan following and so on. However, is that really enough to stay inspired – getting your inspiration from those who have made it? Is it enough to just follow them? Inculcate their habits? Ape their behaviour?

To learn one has to view things as they are, observe and make ones own perception.

Something I heard recently at a talk by Sadhguru in the context of learning that really resonated “you don’t need to look up to someone or look down on someone. If you look up to someone you make him or her God, hence not achievable. When you look down on someone you put yourself on a pedestal. In both cases you don’t learn anything."  To learn one has to view things as they are, observe and make ones own perception.

Looking at other’s achievements for inspiration is like applauding as a bystander to the laurels of the center. Don’t get me wrong, I am not undermining the importance of getting inspiration from others, however it’s not enough for staying inspired.

I am not undermining the importance of getting inspiration from others, however it’s not enough for staying inspired.

People can inspire you however, in order to stay inspired you have to Act on your own vision and Reflect. To put it practically, I infer it as a simple act of Think – do – Learn.

THINK

Figure out what motivates you. What keeps you going? Is it money or position or making-a-difference or solving-a-problem or creating something of value and meaning, could be anything. You are unique and what motivates you is best known to you, its very personal, as long as you are aware of the same and are on that path.

Be true to yourself. As they say ‘A fish can swim in water it cannot climb trees’.  This also means coming to terms with your shortcomings and understanding your own environment.

Have Faith. Don’t let others tell you that you can’t. No one knows you better than you. Confidence is key. Trust your journey. Your journey is yours, own it and live it.

Faith In Yourself

DO

Set Goals. Create action plans with achievable targets. Be realistic about your targets. An unachievable target is worse than having none. If you are not sure of your goal, fret not; figuring out your goal is also a goal. Celebrating smaller wins along the way is far more inspiring than aiming for that one big one.

Don’t be averse to taking risks. We have seen some of the most successful entrepreneurs travel the road less traveled. You never really know unless you take that step. One has to be ready to take risks or do things differently. We cannot expect different results by doing the same things over and over again.

LEARN

Be a learner. Learning is in the doing. Learn from your own mistakes. Learn from others. Be open to feedback, accept, reflect, introspect, and learn. Life is a journey of learning and evolving and that is inspiring for me personally.

Inspiration to my mind has to come from within and from the actions we take. It is more inside driven than outside. Working on a borrowed vision may not last for long. The secret to staying inspired is to keep moving on your path and keep learning. If you are part of a group, aligning your individual vision with that of the group is critical for you to keep going. Nobody else can inspire you better than you yourself – your own actions, what you learn in your own journey.