11 habits that make you feel more inspired than the vast majority of people

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Untethered Mind, Sunday Edition, 4.5-min read.

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Feeling inspired. That often elusive thing we all wish we could feel more.

But, very often, we can feel the exact opposite of inspired. Even if life is going seemingly well.

Over years of fluctuating between inspired and flat, I learned that it comes down not to what's happening in your life but rather how you choose to behave.

Our habits dictate the degree to which we feel inspired.

Here's what I mean:

Commit yourself to projects that contribute to the well-being of other people.

When your attention is away from yourself and towards growing your usefulness, we feel inspired by default.

Be intolerant of thoughts that bring you down.

We are humans, and thoughts continually arise.

Many of these thoughts distract us and make us feel pain. Unhelpful and negative thoughts are not something you can stop at will, but you can be intolerant of taking them seriously.

People struggle and feel flat because they hold on to unhelpful thoughts. You must develop the skill of letting go.

Do nothing.

Most of us make our lives more complicated, assuming that action must be taken to experience a better life.

If we feel resistance, we assume there's something wrong. We believe we need to DO something if we aren't feeling inspired.

We often think about what we can do to fix our problems. We fall into the quagmire of cyclical thoughts. In this instance, we do a lot and only cement our demise.

Do nothing instead. Create space.

Allow the good feeling to come back by itself.

Take responsibility.

One of the best ways to ensure you'll remain grumpy and stagnant is by denying accountability for problems in your life.

List out your main problems. Call them out by name.

Give yourself the gift of accountability and watch your senses flood with energy and solutions.

Go on regular adventures.

Routine can take you further than most.

But breaking things up occasionally with a long or short trip keeps your mind open and humble.

Adventures should test you and have you thinking on your feet. Never allow yourself to get to where you feel you have it all figured out.

Find something to be proud of.

Pride gets a bad rap these days. They associate it with something morally inferior. But pride is what built civilisations.

Pride kept people going when they wanted to quit. You don't need to lose yourself to enjoy pride.

Don't allow ego to pollute your mind, but do acknowledge your wins.

Pride is an emotion to be nurtured because it keeps us rigid when we might otherwise succumb.

Be acutely aware of what fascinates you.

It may seem obvious, but many of us ignore our fascinations and inclinations most of our lives. Often we do it out of fear.

We don't want to fail at the things we hold dear. Notice what brings you to life. What populates most of your bookshelf?

In what could you become obsessed? Bring more of this into your everyday life.

This is like free gas at the petrol station.

Create things.

The best antidote to feeling low or stuck or depressed is to do what humans have evolved to do best: create.

This needn't be a work of artistic genius. Simply watering the plants is a creative act. It's you exerting your influence on your environment out of sheer will and vision.

I will do this; I am doing this. I am an inspired, involved human.

Introduce constraints.

Creativity flourishes in limitation.

When we're more creative, we'll be more inspired and able to come up with solutions. Find ways to do more with less. Combine two ideas in unique ways.

When we are faced with fewer options, that's when creativity emerges from its dusty cave to our aid.

You have to be unreasonably good to your body and health.

Why 'unreasonably?' What is considered normal by most is pretty awful.

It is easy to limit our energy with the crap we consume. Inspired people optimise their mood and energy levels.

I know it feels good in the moment, but you need to see the greater joy that comes from saying no to stuff that screws your system.

Develop the skill of presence.

Getting lost in our past and future can seem romantic. It can be addictive. And envisioning the future might seem like a rich source of inspiration.

But nothing happens in the past and future. They don't exist. So, by spending more time than necessary there, we are living in a delusion.

This is not conducive to present joy, because true joy erupts from action.

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If you enjoyed this, you’ll love my new book: ‘The Art of Self Respect: Twenty-five subtle habits for cultivating deep self-respect and attracting the respect of others‘ — get your copy today.

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