I
was speaking with my Mother about this assignment - to write a report or to
create a visual document about the word or concept ‘inspiration.’ I put this off and put this off. I really did not want to write a report. And I had no idea what to write about. Mum asked me why I was not inspired and why I
was not motivated. Her question got me
thinking…
What
is inspiration and what is motivation?
I
have learned that often people confuse the concepts of inspiration and
motivation and often use one word for another.
There are, I learned, distinct differences and yet they are
intrinsically related.
Motivation is usually short-term and task-oriented. Motivation is the process
of getting started. The root of
motivation is ‘motive’ – a reason for doing something.
The
motivation, or reason, for me to write this report is so I can check it off my
to-do list (thanks Mum) or to have it published in the school blog. If this report was for an actual class, my
motivation would be to get a good grade. If this report was a part of my weekly house
chores, I would write it in order to receive my allowance. Motivation is considered external. It can fade.
Inspiration,
on the other hand, is internal.
Inspiration - ‘in spirit’. This is
a feeling that comes from within, in the very core of your being.
Inspiration is long-term and goal-oriented. Perhaps filling you with the need to ‘make a
difference’, filling you with a passion to do something. Inspiration
is more lasting.
Books
can inspire. Cinema, music, art and
people can all inspire. These feelings
or experiences can touch you to the core and connect with you to make you think
or dream perhaps differently. In colour.
Maybe making you think ‘I
can do that’ or even ‘I can do that better’.
If
motivation is when you get hold of an idea and do it, then inspiration is when
an idea gets hold of you!
Motivation
is something that moves you from the outside, an external force - a grade, a
promotion, a reward. Inspiration
is something you feel on the inside, deep within, that drives you forward, often
ever-lasting.
You
do not have to be inspired to be motivated, but it helps. I sat down to write this because I was
inspired when I came up with this theme.
My motivation was that now Mum is off my back!
