How To Inspire Others When You Are Uninspired

You are engaged, tooling along, whistling while you work and then, without warning, psh, it happens. Just like that, you've lost your inspiration.

You begin to wonder. Where did you last see it? What were you doing when you lost it? When did you first notice it was missing? Was it really there one minute and gone the next or was it a long, slow leak?

You've been there before, I've been there before and we will be there again. Not only can self-motivation be a challenge in this frame of mind, so can inspiring others. That's a problem and it's a problem worth solving. I set out to solve it right here in this very space.

I carried my Modo & Modo black Moleskine journal around with me. I wrote, I erased, doodled, I cut, I pasted, I pondered and I wondered, "how do you inspire others when you are uninspired?"

I got nothing.

How about you?

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Comments

[Nelson A. K.]

Great question... I'll be waiting for the useful comments =P

[Nevin Adams]

Wow - great post, and very timely.

Two things I have found - if you're that passionate about what you do, you probably feel that you've lost your inspiration long before anyone around you notices. That's good, because the worst (for me) is feeling that you are letting other people down...and, while you might, you probably haven't (yet).

Secondly, even if your heart doesn't seem to be in it, I have found that you can keep doing what you were doing - and even if it amounts to little more than going through the motions, it can carry you over the rough patch of road until you recover what you have lost.

Finally, of course - sometimes you lose that inspiration because it is actually time to find something else to be inspired about. Be open to that possibility...just don't panic.

[Trish]

Lisa, first of all, TOO scary that I carry my Modo & Modo black Moleskine journal with me everywhere. I use it to write down all my blog ideas.

Regarding inspiration, I found that starting a personal (non-work) blog helped me. It provided an outlet where I could just be me and not worry about what others thought of my writing. By doing that, I began hearing from other people (mostly working moms) who told me stories that inspired me. It brought me closer to other bloggers and sometimes things they post spark my own creativity.

So, the lesson I learned was that even though you think you have lost your inspiration, you may just inspire others by being yourself. In turn, you find your spark again.

[Lindsay]

Here are my best four ideas....

1) Schedule a fun, just-because event like a lunch offsite or a coffee break at the local Starbucks. Don't have a an agenda, don't talk about business. Just recharge as a team

2) Get your team in a room, get out the big markers or dry erase pens and have a brainstorming session. Provide a couple of topics and let the ideas flow. Forbid the phrases "That will never work" "That's too risky:" "We've never done it that way (or alternatively, "We've always done it this way"), or any other ways new ideas can be shot down. when everyone has poured out their thoughts, pick a few to jump on. Save the rest for later. Then make sure you do go back to them later.

3) Take a few days off. Often being uninspired is a symptom of being tired or burnt out. Get away from work for a few days. Spend time in nature or the big city or wherever you feel energized

4) Read the book "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin. Then create one. (You'll have to read the book to understand that suggestion)

[Kim Fabian]

When I lose my inspiration, I often discover that I am focusing on myself--how I can sound cool, intelligent, creative. I find that bringing my focus back to how I can serve the end user of whatever I'm trying to create--what result I want them to experience, how I can improve their life, or how I want to make them feel--always takes me back to more productive, creative place.