EVERY person in the universe must have or have had a source of inspiration. I define inspiration as a drive to achieve. Inspiration could come from a quote from a book, something you read on Twitter or a bulletin board, an experience or people in your life. Scott Kaufman noted in his study on inspiration that openness to experience and other personal factors leads to being aware of inspiration. The importance of having a source of inspiration is its drive for aspiration and accordingly achievement.
Psychologists Todd Thrash and Andrew Elliot noted that the core aspects of inspiration are: evocation, transcendence and approach motivation. They note: “The heights of human motivation spring from the beauty and goodness that precede us and awaken us to better possibilities.”
Moreover, Thrash and Elliot think that being inspired by something does not only drive you but also helps you act on that inspiration. According to my understanding, the act is your step toward achievement. And as Oprah Winfrey says in her truly inspiring book What I Know For Sure, “your journey begins with a choice to get up, step out and live fully.”
Keep in mind that not all of us have a source of inspiration to achieve, it is something that happens spontaneously and in my case innately. According to Elizabeth Gilbert’s scientific findings, it is not willed; it just happens. On the other hand, that does not mean you can’t generate inspiration, for as I mentioned earlier, experiences, other personal factors lead to inspiration.
Moving back to Scott Kaufman’s study, it is noted that openness to experience, positive effect, and an approach-oriented attitude will make you more likely to be aware of inspiration when it strikes you. For instance, what greatly inspires me to become a successful doctor is literally innate. When I was born, the doctors told my parents that I might not live, for I was born prematurely. But thanks to God and to my main neonatologist, who believed that I could live safe and sound as other neonates, I am safe and sound. What inspires you to achieve?
Lama Al-Harbi
(The author is a medical student at King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences Jeddah Branch. Follow her on Twitter: @_LamaAlHarbi)
