Motivation as Inspiration

This article will discuss motivation as inspiration but from our perspective, it is a belief - inspiration as the outcome. Also, why it only works for an individual or group when it is clearly defined as a belief.

By including a link to Psychology Today, we have directed you toward an exhaustive explanation of motivation for a worldview and background perspective of the past and current thinking behind it. We don’t disagree with these explanations since science likes to expand one’s thinking about subjects, however, we suggest a much less complex way of looking at motivation.

Motivation can be the key to inspiration

In fact, we suggest you do a few things first before reading much further, by investigating some guiding principles (i.e. beliefs) to help set you in a positive frame of mind.

Now that you have read some background material, you are in a position to begin learning something new.

Let’s begin with the idea that all beliefs have a specific outcome or result and the outcome is always measurable.

Purposeful Concentration

For instance in our main example in this article, the belief “motivation” has as an outcome of inspiration. One can measure inspiration by using the calibration tool we call “CAM Awareness Scale”. We suggest too, that if properly defined, inspiration should consistently measure about 8.0 on the awareness scale.

(Note) While this may strike some as more a subjective than objective methodology, over time we and our clients have seen very good and consistent results with this type of measurement.

Real and Enduring Motivation

Also, motivation (i.e. the What) has as one of its main objectives, to fuel inspiration (i.e. the Why) for both individuals and groups. This is not an outside activity, influenced by the motivational industry which provides scores of materials from quotes to motivational stories (e.g. see Wisdom Sidebar below), but a set of inside choices and paired actions. See an example of paired choices and actions. These can be publicly displayed or internally private, however, the definer chooses. Moreover, the motivation here is intended to be a constant source of fuel to keep people on track and heart influenced. Touching one’s heart and soul can produce incredible inspiration. Check out top performers and achievers in any field as examples of how effectively this operates (i.e. see high achievers).

Motivation can be paired with other defined beliefs such as integrity, excellence, and accountability, to name a few. See the example of the belief of integrity below. And, when coupled with these powerful beliefs, can consistently fuel inspiration internally in your thinking and actions, most often resulting in positive behaviors and results.

A Virtuous Belief Example of Integrity

(Wisdom Sidebar) We have made a rather negative reference to the motivational industry because, in our own experience, we find these motivational ideas to be short-term spirited ideas which produce spurts of inspiration, but when compared to sustaining long-lasting beliefs, there appears to be no tangible comparison (e.g. short-term fades while long-term sustains). This can be likened to the concept of shelf-life/shelf-ware – again no long-lasting or sustainable duration other than perhaps a 30 to 60 day period. As an example, reading motivational books (i.e. Chicken Soup for the Soul – great stories), then attempt to put into the ideas read/gained into practice in one’s life: they seem to lose momentum and stoppages typically occur after a short time frame. Another example of this characteristic is the subscriptions to health/fitness facilities which traditionally spike in January but fall off substantially by March’s end. The correlate here in these examples is that the short duration occurs because there usually isn’t a relationship to any real internal belief. It must be connected to a tangible belief, placed into behaviors and over-articulated in language, participation, and process to endure and sustain. See Take A Stand for an understanding of language precision.

A Plausible Explanation

We suggest you consider this belief’s argument seriously for a few moments or days. Remember what has been your own sources of inspiration throughout your life. Connect your own beliefs to those who have provided inspiration for you. Delve into your own stories of these inspirations and see what is revealed to you. Have these worked for you and if so what are the reasons they worked? We suspect that you took on the belief of motivation with an outcome of inspiration.

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Motivation as Inspiration