Give Your Team Inspiration Not Motivation

Give Your Team Inspiration Not Motivation I think of inspiration as something that touches, moves, and affects us.  Through emotions, or the heart if your prefer, it reaches beyond the logic and filtering of the mind.  When you are inspired and touched emotionally, you might shed tears in an instant, or simply feel a noticeable physical resonance with the source of the inspiration.  Theres no thinking about it.  It just happens.  Theres a lesson in that process that is transferable to much of life.  If you want to inspire someone, you have to reach their heart, not their mind. Inspiration isnt about thinking, its about feeling. Heres a look at how that works, partly based on Kristi Hedges new book The Inspiration Code. Inspiration vs. Motivation Its probably easier to understand the magic of inspiration when you add one more element to the mix.   Encouragement would come in as the lower energy counterpart of motivation and inspiration.  Consider your own life experiences.  When someone encourages you to do something, its an almost passive experience.  Its like, here, consider this as an option.  Lifeless words. Motivation normally adds some other element.  There might be a reason given that makes doing whatever it is youre considering make sense.  Consciously or subconsciously, you make an evaluation that echoes thoughts of hey, this is a good/great idea. But when you are engaged in an inspirational moment, there doesnt have to be the just the workings of logic or rationale.  Theres an unseen feeling that is present.  What you feel is the enthusiasm, authenticity, and partnership thats coming along with the communication. What Makes For An Inspiring Moment? If youre wondering what all that might look like, consider that moment when your significant other is proposing marriage.  If he or she is simply encouraging you to say yes, youre not likely to be very enthused about making such a lifelong commitment.   And its probably not going to be any more successful if they do a little presentation infused with facts, figures, and the occasional excited cheer. But if you feel what they say, if the words arent just words but have the magic of inspiration within and around them, youre probably going to be engulfed in the moment not because its logical, but because youre sure they are in it with you. Thats inspiration on a very personal level.  Learn to be inspirational and your world will change drastically. How To Be More Inspirational and Less Motivational Kristi Hedges summed it up perfectly in her new book, The Inspiration Code, with four Ps.  While being motivational may result in varying degrees of reaction, when were inspiring we are: Present.  We engaged and focused on the person were interacting with.  We filter out background noise, keep an open mind, and make it clear that were truly interested in them. Personal. By actively listening and being authentic in our communications, we help others to find their own best paths and best answers. Passionate.  Starting with a base of conviction, we infuse emotion and energy into delivery.  Theres no mistake about our position and commitment, because we literally get it all over them. Purposeful. We dont just talk, we act and are intentional in being a model that reflects our words. If youre serious about changing your interactions with others, in any situation, from routine to inspiring, Kristis book will serve as a great primer to get you moving.  Yes, its fair to say she wrote the book on inspiration.  You can read more reviews here.