WHY INSPIRATION MATTERS !!
“When your Daemon is in charge, do not try to think
consciously. Drift, wait, and obey.” — Rudyard Kipling
In a culture obsessed with measuring talent and
ability, we often overlook the important role of inspiration. Inspiration
awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary
experiences and limitations. Inspiration propels a person from apathy to
possibility, and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities.
Inspiration may sometimes be overlooked because of its elusive nature. Its
history of being treated as supernatural or divine hasn’t helped the situation.
But as recent research shows, inspiration can be activated, captured, and manipulated,
and it has a major effect on important life outcomes.
Inspiration
has three main qualities. Pyschologists Todd M. Thrash and Andrew J. Elliot have 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.
Inspired
people share certain characteristics. Thrash
and Elliot developed the “Inspiration Scale,”
which measures the frequency with which a person experiences inspiration in
their daily lives. They found that inspired people were more open to new
experiences, and reported more absorption in their tasks. “Openness to
Experience” often came before inspiration, suggesting that
those who are more open to inspiration are more likely to experience it.
Additionally, inspired individuals weren’t more conscientious, supporting the
view that inspiration is something that happens to you and is not willed.
Inspired individuals also reported having a stronger drive to master their
work, but were less competitive, which makes sense if you think of competition
as a non-transcendent desire to outperform competitors. Inspired people were
more intrinsically motivated and less extrinsically motivated, variables that
also strongly impact work performance. Inspiration was least related to
variables that involve agency or the enhancement of resources, again
demonstrating the transcendent nature of inspiration. Therefore, what makes an
object inspiring is its perceived subjective intrinsic value, and not how much
it’s objectively worth or how attainable it is. Inspired people also reported
higher levels of important psychological resources, including belief in their
own abilities, self-esteem, and optimism. Mastery of work, absorption, creativity,
perceived competence, self-esteem, and optimism were all consequences of
inspiration, suggesting that inspiration facilitates these important
psychological resources. Interestingly, work mastery also came before
inspiration, suggesting that inspiration is not purely passive, but does favor
the prepared mind.
Inspiration
is not the same as positive affect. Compared to the normal
experiences of everyday life, inspiration involves elevated levels
of positive affect and task involvement, and lower levels of negative affect.
Inspiration is not the same state as positive affect, however. Compared to
being in an enthusiastic and excited state, people who enter an inspired state
(by thinking of a prior moment they were inspired) reported greater levels of
spirituality and meaning, and lower levels of volitional control,
controllability, and self-responsibility for their inspiration. Whereas
positive affect is activated when someone is making progress toward their
immediate, conscious goals, inspiration is more related to an awakening to
something new, better, or more important: transcendence of one’s previous
concerns.
Inspiration
is the springboard for creativity. Inspired people view themselves as
more creative and show actual increases in self-ratings of creativity over
time. Patent-holding inventors report being inspired more frequently and
intensely than non-patent holders, and the higher the frequency of inspiration,
the higher the number of patents held. Being in a state of inspiration also
predicts the creativity of writing samples across
scientific writing, poetry, and fiction (as judged by a panel of fellow
students) independent of SAT verbal scores, Openness to Experience, positive
affect, specific behaviors (e.g., deleting prior sentences), and aspects of the
product quality (e.g., technical merit). Inspired writers are more efficient
and productive, and spend less time pausing and more time writing. The link between
inspiration and creativity is consistent with the transcendent aspect of
inspiration, since creativity involves seeing possibility beyond existing
constraints. Importantly, inspiration and effort predict different aspects of
an activity. Individuals who exerted more effort writing spent
more of their time pausing, deleted more words, wrote more sentences per
paragraph, and had better technical merit and use of rhyming in poems, but
their work was not considered more creative.
Inspiration
facilitates progress toward goals. In
a recent study conducted
by Marina Milyavskaya and her colleagues, college students were asked to report
three goals they intended to accomplish throughout the course of the semester.
They then reported on their progress three times a month. Those who scored
higher on the Inspiration Scale displayed increased goal progress, and their
progress was a result of setting more inspired goals. Therefore, people who
were generally more inspired in their daily lives also tended to set inspired
goals, which were then more likely to be successfully attained. Importantly,
the relationship between inspiration and goal progress was reciprocal: goal
progress also predicted future goal inspiration. As the researchers note, “this
suggests that goal progress and goal inspiration build on each other to form a
cycle of greater goal inspiration and greater goal pursuit.” Finally,
inspired individuals reported experiencing more purpose in life and more
gratitude.
Inspiration
increases well-being. In another study, those who were
exposed to Michael Jordan’s greatness experienced higher levels of positive
affect, and this increase in positive affect was completely explained by their
score on the Inspiration Scale. This inspiration was not transitory though,
predicting positive well-being (e.g., positive affect, life satisfaction) three
months later! Inspiration was more strongly related to future than to present
satisfaction. The extent to which inspiration lasted was explained by
self-reported levels of purpose and gratitude in life.
These findings show that inspiration matters a lot,
which may cause someone to feel pressure to become inspired and helpless to do
so considering the evocative and spontaneous nature of inspiration. The
writer Elizabeth Gilbert rightly expresses
this concern in her inspiring TED talk.
I agree with Gilbert that one should not put pressure on oneself to become
inspired. These key scientific findings suggest that inspiration is not
willed–it happens. Knowing this should free you from the pressure to make inspiration
happen.
This does not mean that inspiration is completely
outside your control. Contrary to the view of inspiration as purely mythical or
divine, I think inspiration is best thought of as a surprising interaction
between your current knowledge and the information you receive from the world.
There are things you can do to increase the likelihood of inspiration
occurring. Research shows quite clearly that preparation (“work mastery”) is a
key ingredient. While inspiration is not the same as effort, effort is an
essential condition for inspiration, preparing the mind for an inspirational
experience. Openness to Experience and positive affect are also important, as
having an open mind and approach-oriented attitude will make it more likely
that you will be aware of the inspiration once it arrives. Small
accomplishments are also important, as they can boost inspiration, setting off
a productive and creative cycle.
Another incredibly important, and often overlooked
trigger of inspiration is exposure to inspiring managers, role models, and
heroes. As Gregory Dess and Joseph Picken note in “Changing Roles: Leadership In The 21st Century,”
our competitive global economy requires leaders to shift their focus from
efficient management to effective utilization of a company’s diversity of
resources. They argue for five key roles of leadership:
- Using strategic vision to motivate and inspire
- Empowering employees at all levels
- Accumulating and sharing internal knowledge
- Gathering and integrating external information
- Challenging the status quo and enabling creativity
- Steve Jobs is the quintessential example of an inspiring manager, and he undoubtedly checked each of these boxes in spades.
To become personally inspired, the best you can do is set up the optimal circumstances for inspiration. As a society, the best we can do is assist in setting up these important circumstances for everyone. An easy first step is simply recognizing the sheer potency of inspiration, and its potential impact on everything we do.
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