Are You Inspired or Motivated?

What’s the difference between operating from inspiration and operating from motivation? Some would argue that there is no difference and that they pretty much mean the same thing. But in all actuality, there are differences between the two words no matter what your perception. If anyone knows me, they know that I’m always a respecter of another’s point of view even if I don’t necessarily agree.

This article will be written from my perspective of the words “inspiration” and “motivation.” Within the Abraham-Hicks YouTube post, Esther Hicks, channeling-Abraham, gave their definition of both, and they were simple definitions that I agree with wholeheartedly. In a nutshell, in one instance, you are being called to something. In the other instance, you are making yourself go do something. In both cases, action is required, but one action is a “calling” and the other action is “forcing.”

To me, motivation alone is useful for those who are unaware or unseasoned using the Law of Attraction. It’s not a bad thing at all; however, it is an upstream way to manifest. Motivation by itself helps you pull up your boot straps and get down and dirty, and the common words you may hear in your mind are, “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get the job done.” Or, “I don’t care what it feels like. I’m going to do it anyway.” In these statements, there is a lot of resistance toward the task at hand. When an action has to be forced, there is some sort of misalignment with the outcome of that action. It doesn’t mean that you won’t reach the desired outcome; it’s just a “forced” and tiresome way of doing so.

On the other hand, if you are moved by inspiration, it doesn’t require much forcing at all. You are led or gently guided to take certain actions. They may be small actions that cause a huge result. It will feel very natural to do the tasks at hand and you won’t want to do anything else. Your focus will be solely what you are “called” or “led” to do.

Inspiration can happen in the form of “gentle nudging.” What I mean by this is that you can get a slight pull or urge to call someone, research something, open a certain email, and schedule a conference call or anything like that. Sometimes, one may notice this and even mention to themselves, “I wonder where this is going to lead?”

Conversely, operating with just motivation can cause you to dread the very action that you may “have to” take. You may say to yourself, “OK, I gotta make sure that I call all five of these qualified leads tonight before I go to sleep.” How do you feel when you say this? Do you feel happy and excited or do you suck your teeth and have to pull yourself together before you can make the calls? The former may actually be a form of inspiration, but the latter is definitely one where you’re motivating yourself to get the job done.

Motivation and Inspiration can work hand in hand, but I believe that inspiration should come first and be the captain. I have an entire chapter in my book How Ordinary People Attract Extraordinary Wealth that goes into more details about drudgery versus love when it comes to productivity.

The key is to focus on the outcome and to take action that you are led to take, and not so much driven to take. You can be pumped up from excitement and then hit a wall only to reveal that you were operating from motivation. Or, you can be pumped up from excitement, bump into the wall, and discover that there is another way around the way without stressing or trying because you were operating from inspiration.

In a nutshell, using strictly motivation, you can get tired and may quit. While operating from inspiration, you’re continuously inspired, and keep being led ultimately to blissful manifestation.

December 30th, 2007