WHAT INSPIRES YOUR MIDWIFERY DREAMS?

Have you ever heard about the famous phrase of Brian Tracy “There are no limits of what you can accomplish, except the limits you place on your own thinking?” People as we are, we are limitless, we know how to thrive for more, we are eager for success, but sometimes, we just stop working on what we love and what we want. Why? Because we are uninspired and unmotivated, we can’t find any reason to push through anymore and to finish what we have started. This is why we need to find an inspiration and motivation. It’s important to understand the significance of inspiration within yourself because this is your indispensable factor or influence that gives you strength and vitality.

Psychologists Todd M. Thrash and Andrew J. Elliot has noted these core aspects of inspiration: evocation, transcendence, and approach motivation.

First, inspiration is evoked spontaneously without intention.

Inspiration is also transcendent of our more animalistic and self-serving concerns and limitations. Such transcendence often involves a moment of clarity and awareness of new possibilities. As Thrash and Elliot note, “The heights of human motivation spring from the beauty and goodness that precede us and awaken us to better possibilities.” This moment of clarity is often vivid, and can take the form of a grand vision, or a “seeing” of something one has not seen before (but that was probably always there).

Finally, inspiration involves approach motivation, in which the individual strives to transmit, express, or actualize a new idea or vision. According to Thrash and Elliot, inspiration involves both being inspired by something and acting on that inspiration.

We all love to be inspired by people we admire — our boss, our spouse, someone who has accomplished great things. It makes us feel good, and it motivates us to do great things ourselves at work, home, or in our communities. We can learn powerful lessons from those who inspire us that we can use to inspire the people in our lives.

Ines Temple, president of LHH-DBM Peru and LHH Chile — and author of the best-selling book Usted S.A. Empleabilidad y Marketing Personal — believes that understanding what inspires us is the key to learning how to inspire others. Here, according to Ines, are 11 ways she is inspired by others. Consider how you can inspire the people in your own work and life in the same powerful ways.

1. I am inspired by people who feel enthusiastic about their job, their life, or their family, and who convey their enthusiasm and good energy to me. Being with people who are passionate about what they do makes me feel good, and they are an example to me. They inject their enthusiasm and prompt me to make my best efforts too.

2. I am inspired by someone who is capable of pointing out possibilities that I had not considered, that I thought were unattainable, or that I never dared to dream of or expect. This inspiration is powerful and works as a major driving force of my development and growth.

3. I am inspired by people who believe in me and make me feel worthy, accepted, and approved. People who, if I make a mistake or if things don’t go well the first time, can point this out with a sense of “it didn’t go well this time” or “you will do better next time.” I am most inspired when people trust my ability to learn, change, and improve!

4. I am very much inspired by someone who conveys an optimistic vision of the future that makes sense to me, especially if that vision focuses on the opportunities or possibilities that I will have, and on what these opportunities will mean to me. I make that vision my own very fast and fully, and I strive for it.

5. I am much inspired by people who try to see the best in me and focus on it when dealing with me. If they see me with flying colors from day one, assuming that I always give the best of me, that drives me to live up to the good image that they already have of me and my reputation.

6. I am inspired when any problems that may arise are set forth transparently before me, with emphasis on the possible solutions and, especially, on what is expected of me. This makes me feel worthy and respected, that the person takes me into account, and this helps me feel capable of coping with any problems and doing what has to be done to solve them!

7. I am inspired by serious people, by people with values who don’t lie to me or use me for their own purposes or to cover up their misdoing. I am inspired by those who place the common interest above their ego, as hard as it may be.

8. I am inspired by those who can resist the temptation to be negative and don’t pay heed to those who gossip to hide their own frustrations — those who see only bad in others inspire no one, they achieve nothing, they are worth nothing. I am inspired by those who celebrate happily the success of others because this is how they show their own strength and greatness. I enjoy their company and they give me energy.

9. I am inspired when someone who is generating changes explains to me, step by step, patiently and well ahead of such changes, how these will affect me (hopefully, not for long), or, even better, how they will benefit me. I am most inspired by being told they need me to implement these changes!

10. I am inspired by the boss or leader who is capable of showing his or her vulnerability. I can relate to that person immediately. When I can relate their weaknesses to mine, I cease to be afraid of them, and this new confidence brings out the best in me.

11. I am inspired by people who know where they are going, who strive joyfully to accomplish their goals and are determined to accomplish what they set out to do and do it enthusiastically and with hope. I want to be like them, to get to where they have gotten, and follow in their footsteps to be among the winners!

We have such an amazing opportunity in midwifery history right now to dream big and create massive change around the world! Have you thought of what inspires you? Did you find from the list some factors that you can use as an inspiration? I am pretty much sure that you have one of these inspirations in your life. Let me know what inspires you each day in the comments below!