CEO - Inspiration or stagnation?

Inspiration or stagnation?

If you’re not feeling inspired you’re often bored, stagnating or stressed which ever it is, your probably looking for a way out.

If you’re inspired you are, feeling mentally stimulated to do something. That’s the dictionary definition. We all want to feel inspired and it’s easy to see with this definition how it can often prove illusive.

Yet when we feel inspired we feel lighter, more energised and love the days of our lives and we want that for ourselves and our teams.

Fortunately through talking with the founders, CEO and leaders that I work with I have identified 5 re-occurring themes keep coming up and better define inspiration and allow us to create it on tap.


Admiration
It’s no surprise that the other meaning of the word inspiration is to breath in. We breath in inspiration from those around us when we admire them. Their values, their way of thinking, their skills. When we surround ourselves with “bodies” that will do for now we deprive ourselves and likely them from the very energy we need to accomplish the mission we have set out for ourselves.

Meaning
When the task is in service of something bigger and that something matters to you that task is infused with inspiration. If a. You don’t believe the task supports the meaning b. There is no meaning c. You don’t care about the meaning, then inspiration is unlikely to come.

Mastery
If we know where we are in skill and where we wish to get to and have an idea of how to get there as well as the resources and time to get there we are inspired by our own progress towards mastery.

Expiration
If inspiration is to breath in then expiration is to breath out inspiration to those around us which as stated above means to be a source or admiration to those around us. And there are two things that create admiration more than anything else. Being in flow and curiosity. Acting in our zone of genius and being deeply curious about those around us lifts them to new levels of inspiration too.

Energy
There are many ingredients to creating energy. Many of which are above but really it’s about whether you believe your current battery has enough consistent energy to fulfil the demands of the predicted future. It’s really hard to be inspired without this ingredient.

If you’re missing inspiration then you will likely find the missing ingredient or ingredients above.

What are you missing?