MANTRA: INSPIRATION IS ALL AROUND ME. TO ACCESS IT, I SLOW DOWN, SET BOUNDARIES, AND CONNECT TO MY SOUL.
Day three of the feelings wheel! Inspired to share with you and inspired to keep seeking inspiring things.
The best conversations give you so much energy. The conversations I get the most energy from include an exchange of ideas and experiences that help me to learn and grow. The conversations I’m LEAST inspired by tend to have to dos and start with problem solving and lead to overthinking.
Things that tend to inspire: Ellen show videos, uplifting documentaries, the happy playlist created for you by Spotify, nature, space to feel free and rest, conversations that help you feel connected, exploring new places that feel exciting.
Inspiration is nested under the word optimism on the feelings wheel. I’d like to argue that you don’t necessarily need to feel optimistic to feel inspired, but inspiring moments can lead to feeling optimistic.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever experienced a cycle. Whether it’s a cycle of emotion, abuse, a stuck pattern, the washer/dryer cycle, you get the concept. Something happens, then comes back around, etc.
Inspiration is one of those things that can break a cycle and make you feel whole again. Even if it’s just for a moment.
Some days inspiration comes easily. You wake up with a pep in your step and feel light hearted and free.
Other days, you feel like you could see a rainbow, find a $20 bill, and win a free pizza and you still would feel down in the dumps.
But on days like that, I encourage you to seek out inspiration.
Here’s an example: sometimes I feel a cycle when it comes to my money. We all have limiting beliefs about money and they often feel really factual and critical. The other day, I looked at my bank account and I found myself feeling fear. I’ve noticed this same thing tends to happen as soon as I pay my rent at the beginning of the month. So the cycle tends to last 30 days.
The first week of the month: omg how am I going to pay my bills and feed myself?
The second week of the month: okay we’re going to be fine. Worst case scenario, we can ask someone for help. I’ll never be homeless.
The third week of the month: phew just got paid, okay I should pay these bills and buy a nice meal and get that book I wanted.
The fourth week of the month: okay gotta make sure I have enough in my bank account, why did I buy that book? I could have saved $12.
After writing that out, I feel like I need to wipe the ick off of me.
That cycle can only be broken by a change in the thought pattern.
I’ve found myself trying to change the thought pattern by changing the external outputs. Okay if I just get rid of all my subscriptions I will feel better.
Nope.
If I stop going to the dentist that will save money.
Yes, but it doesn’t change the cycle.
If I move in with one my parents, I’ll feel better.
Maybe temporarily, but other cycles will replace the fear of money one.
The only thing that shifts that cycle for me is inspiration.
After about a year of living on my own and covering my full rent while having the exact same paycheck from a non-profit job that quite literally supports me and that is all, this is what I’ve come to realize:
Changing jobs/apartments will only improve the cycle a little bit. The real issue is coming from my mind.
If I refuse to seek out inspiration, I could have all the money in the world and I’ll still get caught up in this cycle of pay rent and freak out and buy something and enjoy for two seconds and freak out.
Because the problem lies within my mind. Yes I need to pay my bills and yes I should pay attention to increasing my income/decreasing my expenses where I can, but if my mindset is effed, good luck ever feeling free from that cycle.
I feel like Michael Scott when I write sometimes:
But I trust that what is coming through will resonate with the right people. Inspiration makes life meaningful, improves quality of life, and frees us (even temporarily) from thought loops, patterns and cycles.
It shows us what might be possible. It shows us that life is constantly changing. It shows us that we are empowered to improve our situation even if that situation for the moment is simply our mindset.
If you’re also sick of the money cycle/thought loop, here are two incredible books about money:
-You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
-Abundance: The Inner Path to Wealth
You’ll be amazed at how many finanical struggles start in the mind and not externally.
Are there external circumstances? 1000% – but our mind creates or busts open barriers that allow us to move forward, be inspired or the opposite.
So find inspiration. Whether the cycle you need to break is about money or something much deeper.
What inspires you and how can you sprinkle more of that into your day to get out of the funk and into the flow? <3