Looking for explanations… on Nostr: "Inspiring" is a much over used word. If I see or hear something that makes me think ...

"Inspiring" is a much over used word. If I see or hear something that makes me think that maybe "I could do that", I feel encouraged. If I think "I should do that", I probably feel shamed. If I think "I'm going to do that", I feel motivated. If I think "I must do that and will feel irritated or stifled until I do"... that for me means that I feel inspired.

When I see a particular scene or photograph, I feel inspired to try to draw or paint it. Whether or not I am a "good" artist is beside the point. I imagine its the same when a writer meets a particular type of person, or hears about a particular event or situation. They feel that they must write about them/it, develop it, or simply use it as a launching point from which to develop their own totally original character or story. Whether or not the end story or poem is particularly good is another issue.

Sometimes we put people on a pedestal or use their stories as "inspo porn", but the mere fact that most people who do this do not act on that so called "inspiration" is evidence that they weren't in fact "inspired" at all. In fact, they will often go out of their way to take note of differences between themself and that person to justify not having done that thing, or anything else of note.

That doesn't mean that we shouldn't admire and celebrate high achievers. They deserve recognition, and it is certainly possibly that someone, somewhere, will indeed feel encouraged, motivated, or maybe even inspired by their story. But can we stop over-using the word?

#Inspiration
#Neurodivergence