Inspiration vs. Motivation

As I was running this morning, several thoughts came to me, and I was very nervous that I would forget them before I could get home and write them down. I know it is pretty sad that I carry pen and paper in my car, in my purse, in my office, etc just in case some profound thought comes to my head, but I guess I never really thought about needing to keep it on me when I am running at 5am. My running partner may not like it if I have to stop every so often and write something down. We will see how that plays out. Anyway, back to this post...inspiration vs. motivation. I was reading the first few pages of some new books I was looking into reading the other day and I came across one that made me think about the title of this post. As people around me share with me that I have inspired them, I am always blown away by that much credit being given to me. I am just being me, or doing something for myself and as much as it is not an intentional inspiration, it is something that is outside of us. We can find inspiration in great stories from the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books, seeing someone do something kind for a perfect stranger, or hearing a message that resonates with us and stirs something perhaps long forgotten. But motivation is different. The book hints at how someone can inspire someone else, but cannot motivate them. The basic reason was that motivation does not comes from outside oneself, but from the inside. We have to find the motivation from within to do something different that we have been inspired to do. Motivation comes after inspiration, not before. Inspiration is the thought and the motivation is the action that follows. Here is my example, when I started running with Rocky, it was more about trying to do something for myself because she asked the questions. But knowing she only runs with me twice a week meant that I had to motivate myself to get up every morning and run without her. If you have been inspired, what did that motivate you to do? Have you followed through? Why or why not? It is not enough to just be inspired...you have to find the motivation to change something in your life. It can happen - be ready to receive it.