If You Have to Ask …
I field a lot of questions from creators wondering whether their action is inspired or not.
Sometimes they want my confirmation that what they’re doing is inspired, and sometimes they just want to review their action plan to make sure it’s aligned … because they know inspired action is preferable to taking action for action’s sake.
Conscious creators know it always works better when we’re propelled by inner guidance rather than operating from our logical, rational (read: limited) physical mind.
Taking action to make something happen is not nearly as effective as letting inner guidance show the way (via inspiration) to what we want.
So my fellow creators want reassurance that they’re doing it “right”; that their action is driven by guidance, not from an old habit of trying to figure it out on their own. (Which can be a hard habit to break!)
Here’s the thing: if you have to ask, it’s not inspired.
(Kind of like if he has to ask if it was good for you … that’s a sign. Not a good one.)
When we’re inspired, we don’t stop to ponder these things. We don’t pause to evaluate or analyze the plan. We don’t need thumbs up from anyone before we proceed. Because we’re too busy honoring the impulse to move!
That’s the definition of inspired action – you’re powerfully moved into motion! It’s what you feel like doing so strongly that nothing could keep you from it! It’s just not optional to skip it! (And yes, it feels like it has a lot of exclamation points in it! It’s that kind of fired up energy!)
If your action is optional, it’s not inspired. If you get to debate it, if you could seriously consider not doing it, it’s not inspired. When it’s a call from spirit, you don’t pause to second-guess or double-check or consider other options.
Yes, I might be speaking a bit to the extreme. Maybe some inspirations are subtle enough that we have time for contemplation and review. Maybe sometimes we just want to make sure we’re not falling for a gremlin instruction again.
But not really.
Inspiration is an irresistible impulse that moves us into action! It’s the thing that you couldn’t say no to if you tried! It’s what you say yes to before you even realize you’re doing it!
Some of us try to convince ourselves that we’re taking inspired action when really we’re just doing the best-feeling muggle option we could come up with. (And there’s something to be said for that. Taking the better feeling action is better than taking an effortful unpleasant action!)
But it’s always better to roll with inspiration when we can.
Here’s how to know when it’s not inspired action you’re rolling with:
- If you have to talk yourself into it. (When it’s inspired, you don’t need motivation.)
- If you need others to approve of it. (When it’s inspired, other opinions don’t factor in.)
- If you feel compelled to explain it. (Inspiration doesn’t require justification.)
- If it’s optional to do it or not. (Inspired action calls you strongly to engage it!)
If it makes total logical sense that everyone else would agree with, I would be suspicious about it. Sometimes, though, the inspired actions we get are perfectly logical, so that’s not an absolute giveaway.
The original meaning of inspiration was to have “a divine influence upon a person.” You know what it feels like to be moved by Spirit, right? Right. When that happens we don’t need approval, confirmation, justification, explanation, reasoning, etc.
We simply move with the joy that is moving us.
I shared an example at GVU when I wrote about how I was inspired to spread clover seeds the other day when it was too late to spread clover seeds. (It was too hot and too dry for seeds to survive. I would have to wait until fall. My professionally trained and highly experienced landscaper and I both knew that.)
But there I was, moved to spread clover seeds through the lawn one day! Didn’t make any sense, but inspiration often doesn’t, so I didn’t question it.
And get this – the seeds grew. Which was a big deal for me, because I’d been wondering what to do with all this grass I didn’t want to maintain any more. Here was the clover showing me the perfect answer. In the heat of summer!
I did have a moment of wondering why I was doing this when everyone knows these seeds won’t germinate in these temperatures. There’s no way I could keep this area moist enough for them to survive. But inspiration grabs you like that – it calls you to the thing that the logical mind may or may not be on board with.
I’m not saying it’s always easy or obvious to distinguish inspired action from figure-it-out-through-logical-rational-analysis action, but if you have to ask, that’s a telltale sign.