
Me? I'm a self starter. I just dream up ideas, literally. I have intense, colorful adventures in my dreams and then I wake up and say to myself that I am going to sign up for a class in X, Y, or Z because of that seed of inspiration. I jog or hike in nature and God plants an idea in me that came out of the blue and I'm obsessed with it until I research it all the way through. That means to me, I'm a self starter. Allow me to give you an example of this: A month ago, I was making tea with honey. I inhaled the honey and wondered how they made honey perfume or cologne smell so true to the source. Honey is food! If we bottled honey and spread it on our pulse points we would smell great and be sticky!. So I began researching all things about the science of creating the honey scent in a laboratory.
My daughter is inspired by others and their passions for things for the most part. In 2nd grade, her close friend was really into piano. My daughter begged me for piano lessons. In 7th grade she was hanging out daily with the girls who did Olympic weightlifting. Now she is enjoying that activity regularly because they were so into it. Being influenced positively by who you surround yourself with is a wonderful thing. This builds community and a team spirit, a tribe of support.
My point here is that both of these techniques we use in our lives. Sometimes we stumble upon something we are passionate about by watching it on tv while making dinner. Sometimes we are invited specifically to an event by a friend who wants to introduce us to an activity, business, or art they practice or showcase. These methods serve us at different times in our lives and for different life goals as well. We do lean towards one style of decision making or another though.
I challenge you for the next few days to step outside of yourself when making simple decisions. Observe whether you pick the vegetables at the grocery store because the person next to you is enthusiastically chatting about them and putting them in his or her basket, or because you had your vegetables in mind before you got to the store. Do you go to the gym because your friend, the teacher is teaching spinning and you made a commitment to go, or do you go outside for a walk in nature and spend time alone for a while hiking because you have something internal to work out?
Who inspires you most and why? Do you think you are more of a self starter or more of someone who is inspired by others into action? Remember, no judgment!
Blessings,
KJ Landis