Personal Success: Mining Your Inspiration
May 29, 2011 by selfimprove
It could be a myth – but many myths are basic facts lost in the passage of time – that, having sought for many years to find the meaning of life, the Buddha became enlightened when he was simply sitting under a tree. Again, it may be legend, but legend has it that Sir Isaac Newton made is most important scientific discovery, once again, whilst sitting under a tree. And although it was an apple that reputedly dropped for Newton, you’ve got to find your own tree to allow your very own pennies to drop for you – your personal development depends upon it.
Only a clear and uncluttered mind can be inspired. And the normal mind is anything but clear and uncluttered. Psychology explains that the normal mind is overwhelmed by random thought – some fifty thousand random thoughts zip through our heads every single day. The majority of those thoughts are innocuous but, on the basis of research, some of those thoughts are self-destructive – I was going to say positively self-destructive but that would be an oxymoron – these thoughts are both negative and toxic. I’m speaking of the thoughts that create the false perceptions of damaged self-esteem, worry, anxiety, stress and depression. Left to itself, the adult mind simply cannot experience inspiration.
And is life worth enduring without the excitement of inspiration? Surely life is nothing more than going through the motions if you’re not excited and delighted by the exhilaration of the out-of-the-ordinary? Sadly, the out-of-the-ordinary is all too rare an event for the normal mind that merely exists in the comfort of the routine. However, if you don’t shock yourself out of the slumber of the mundane you will simply not have experience real living. Not only that, you’ll be a negative influence on those around you – in particular those who you claim to love.
Everybody is capable of being inspired and inspiring. You are capable of leaping out of the norm and living your very best life. But you’re going to have to make space for inspiration, you’ve got to give yourself the clear, uncluttered time to let the inner you out. Our next-door neighbour in the Alps has often asked me what I do for a living. And, even though I’ve explained it to him many times, he still persists in asking – in his own words “It seems to myself and my wife that you waste a lot of time doing nothing!”
Doing nothing is not a waste of time. Doing nothing can often be the time most fruitfully spent. The clarity and peace of mind that comes with spending time doing nothing is the fertile ground in which inspirational ideas simply spring to life. Thomas Edison found that he only became inspired in his mind’s quiet moments to the extent that he set about creating quiet moments for his mind every day. A prolific inventor, he had had over four hundred inventions patented to his name. Pablo Picasso is reputed to have said that he wasn’t sure when inspiration would strike so he made sure that he cultivated a prepared mind.
Are you prepared to be inspired? How often do you simply let your mind go off on flights of fancy? I’m not talking about entertaining negative thought – I’m talking about simply letting your mind wander onto what normal people would find unachievable or undoable. Such things are only undoable to a normal mind constrained by preconceived negative notions. De-program yourself – let yourself go, let yourself off the hook of normal ‘living inside the box’. Find your tree, sit under it and devote quality time doing nothing.
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Great post.. But people are sometimes cynical for that. I think one of the most important contributors to your success is the ability to see qualities in other people that make you feel good and make you want to do better, work hard, and have the courage to try new things.
Lynne