MDF Magazine Newsletter Issue 58 April 2019

Sandra’s thoughts on…
Inspiration
By Sandra Bredell (MSW)
Inspiration in English, inspirasie in Afrikaans, ugqozi
in Zulu and iphefumlelwe in Xhosa is described as
“the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel
something” (Vocabulary.com). “Inspire” derives from
the Latin word “inspirare”, which means “to blow into”. It
makes one think of a fire and blowing air over a flame to
make it bigger (Kaufman, 2011a).
To be inspirational means to offer some upliftment to
others so that they become more motivated to be the
best that they can be. It also refers to being an example
to others and to motivate and encourage others to grow
and reach their potential (Biography Online).
Inspiration comes in many forms. Sometimes a
movie or a book can inspire or energise you to create
something, start a new project or sport or even take a
whole new direction in your career. In everyday life a lot
of pressure is directed at measuring talent and abilities.
So often inspiration is overlooked in a culture obsessed
with success and performance. Inspiration plays an
important role in opening up new opportunities and
possibilities in changing our perspective on ordinary
experiences and our limitations (Kaufman, 2011b).
Who or what is your inspiration in life? Where and how
do you get motivated and energised to keep going?
In answering these questions, what would be
characteristics of an inspirational person? They most
likely would not be selfish, they would not act out of
pride or superiority, they would have courage to do what
is right, they would stick to their principles. Inspirational
people are usually positive and happy people with a
vision of hope (Kaufman, 2011b).
It is wonderful to have places or things that inspire
you and even to have an inspirational person or role
model, but have you given enough thought to being an
inspiration to yourself and others? It all starts with you.
The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins states: “If you
have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically
move within five seconds or your brain will kill it” (Chai,
2017). So the next time you get a great idea, try to count
from 5 to 1 and act. Also try to cut down the stress and
drench yourself in motivational literature and movies.
This will remind you of your intention to create or do
something towards your goal. And finally talk to the
person that knows you best... you. This type of
conversation, however, needs to be in a positive
manner. You need to affirm and remind yourself of who
you are and what you want to achieve. Let’s get inspired
to reach our goals (Chai, 2017).
Inspire yourself and you will inspire others.
References
Biography Online. (No date). “Inspirational definition”.
https://www.biographyonline.net/people/inspirational/
definition.html
Chai, N. (2017). “The 5 best ways to motivate yourself”.
Success, 7 September. https://www.success.com/the-
5-best-ways-to-motivate-yourself/
Kaufman, S.B. (2011a). “Why inspiration matters”.
Harvard Business Review, 8 November. https://hbr.
org/2011/11/why-inspiration-matters
Kaufman, S.B. (2011b). “Why inspiration matters: inspiration
impacts everything”. Psychology Today, 5 October.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beautiful-minds/201110/why-inspiration-matters
Vocabulary.com. (No date). “Inspire”. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/inspire
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