Do you inspire people?
Are you a motivator?
Is there a difference between the two?
Inspiration and motivation are not the same things. They are, in fact, quite opposite of each other.
Inspiration is a strong desire to create, to reach out and make something or do something. Motivation is a general willingness or the reason for an action.
They sound the same to me. What’s the difference?
It’s all in how we express it or shall I say it’s all in our ‘perspective’.
Motivated people charge forward, not letting anyone or anything stop them or interfere with their process. Inspiration, however, pulls others into your wake and drags them along.
With motivation, you grab the vision and run with it. With inspiration, the idea grabs hold of you.
Have you ever had an inspiration? You can probably remember every detail, the time it hit, the idea behind it, and the way it felt. Motivation comes and goes. You might remember the project that came from it, but not in the fine detail that inspiration impresses upon you.
That’s probably the most significant difference. Motivation wears out. Often it runs out long before the project is over. Inspiration can last a lifetime and will take you to horizons you’d never imagined.
Motivation is like the coach that yells about “getting up,” “hitting harder,” “running faster.” It’s the push that we need to get over the initial slump or over that mid-point. Inspiration doesn’t need a push or a press. Inspiration is more like finding a new perspective, a fresh eye that you’ve never known existed.
You cannot teach inspiration; it can’t be passed on from one person to another. Inspiration comes indirectly, stealing into our thoughts when we don’t expect it; often when we’re clear-headed or even concentrating on something else. For me, the best inspirations come in the shower, when I have let go of all the thoughts and concerns of the day.
Motivation is the drive to bring creation to reality and to finish the project, but inspiration is the birth of that creativity.
Inspiration can be a life-changing event that completely realigns your perspective on a permanent basis.
Motivation is independent of passion. Motivation is often a replacement for passion; inspiration is passion in its rawest form. Inspiration is an idea, a vision that takes hold and never lets go. People who are inspired are more likely to succeed, and most likely to influence others.
Being motivated to a task typically does not motivate someone else. On the other hand, being inspired is contagious. Inspired people catch others in their passion and create inspiration within them, thus making inspiration the more valuable of the two.