Be Your Own Inspiration (10 tips how)
You’re epic. You’ve done cool sh*t and you’ll do even more epic things.
So be your own biggest fan.
Lately, I’ve been a bit obsessed with this whole idea of how to be your own inspiration. It’s a healthy place to be mentally, but it’s also super effective. Because relying on external sources for motivation and self worth is a diminishing return.
So this is my guide. This is how I stay stoked about myself (while still staying humble).
Now let’s do this!
I Motivate Me (a quick story)
Recently, I was sitting in a small rented room just outside of Tokyo, chipping away at miscellaneous work and personal projects.
I was burned out.
“Maybe you know the feeling, like you’re pouring your heart and soul into something, but no one seems to notice, or care. Do you ever feel that?”
When you feel this tapped out, it’s easy to get bitter, lose motivation or worse, completely quit.
But this is the process. I know I’m building something — pursuing my dream — so even if nothing ever happens, it’s worth it. Because it’s my truth, and not doing it would suck way more.
So as I sat there, in that small rented room just outside of Tokyo, I realized something: I’ve been here before — last year, in Seoul.
But back then, I gave into the ennui. I stopped working on my projects and let them gather dust. Because back then, I told myself convinced myself that “tomorrow…” would be different.
It rarely was though.
My goals were more or less the same, but my ability to stay focused and commit to them was weak sauce.
This realization (again, sitting in my Tokyo apartment) sparked energy in me. It gave me motivation and I overcame that burnout almost instantly.
I realized that past me never actually gave up and that I was more resilient than I used to be. I had grown and actually achieved things. It’s just easy to miss or under appreciate all the small wins along the way.
This is why being your own inspiration is awesome.
It’s a reminder of your progress. And it’s a never-ending source of motivation and personal pride. So become your own biggest fan. Because little wins add up and spark tectonic shifts.
Explore more:
➤ Dear Artist, Be Your Own Biggest Fan
How to Be Your Own Inspiration (10 tips)
1. Compare Yourself (to your past self)
There’s only one person you should be comparing yourself to. It’s you, before today.
You probably already know this, but comparing yourself to other people is the ultimate thief of joy, creativity and productivity. But when you shift focus to yourself, everything gets better. You’ll feel more inspired and more motivated.
Or, you’ll realize exactly what you need to do.
So here’s how I shift focus:
Become aware
Write down your daily wins in a journal or a calendar
Take regular social media detoxes
Hang around more supportive, inspiring people
Explore more:
➤ Making Social Media Fun Again
2. Do More Difficult Things
When I do more difficult things, I become more confident and more sure of myself.
I get super inspired by what I’m doing.
Hard things take discipline, focus, patience and resilience. When you overcome tricky obstacles, you realize how awesome you actually are — you experience your true power. You become unstoppable.
So it’s simple (“simple”), start doing more difficult things. Here are some examples:
Wake up earlier
Learn a language
Start exercising
3. Health and Wellness
When I take control of my health and wellness, I feel incredibly empowered. I feel inspired.
But even going beyond self-inspiration, taking control of your health apparently has other benefits too (😏). But for our purposes, the boost in self-motivation is enough.
Here are some things I like to do to stay on top of my wellbeing:
Meditate daily
Prioritize mental health
Aim for balance in life
Eat well
Walk more
Have some active hobbies
Do what works for you
Explore more:
➤ Self Care for Creatives
4. Redefine Success
When I let other people, society or external influences define my success, I tend to get bummed out. But when I redefine what success means to me, I feel happier.
Success is subjective. One person’s failure is another person’s dream (vice versa).
So in my experience, when I stay aware of this success trap and get clear about how I define it for myself, I tend to feel better and stay inspired.
Here are some quick tips for defining your success:
Align success with your values
Look beyond numbers or wealth
Create success goals for different parts of life (money, health, career, social, etc.)
5. Do What You Said You Would
“Nobody is more anxious than the ambitious person who creates nothing.”
Being your own inspiration requires you to do the things you said you were going to do.
Because no matter how good a reason for quitting (or never starting) sounds, you know deep down you could’ve done more. At least, that’s been my experience.
Pursuing your dream or vision is stressful. But not pursuing it is worse. It can become regret.
So even if you can only spend 20 minutes a day, make time to do the things you truly dream about doing. Consistently acting on your vision and pursuing it will make you your own biggest fan — even without ‘success’.
Trust me, even just trying is a strong source of personal pride.
6. Share Your Knowledge
When you teach or share your knowledge, two things happen:
You realize how much you actually know
You help someone
In either case, you’ll feel inspired.
It’s easy to miss how much value and knowledge we actually have. This is called the ‘curse of knowledge’ and it’s the assumption that everyone must know what you know because it feels so obvious and simple for you.
But you probably know a lot more than you realize.
It’s easy to feel like you’re not qualified enough or like you should be more humble, but false stories exist and there’s a dark side to too much modesty.
You only need to be one step ahead of someone to give them real value.
So share your awesomeness and inspire yourself (and others in the process).
7. Try Fashion
Fashion influences your mood, self expression, confidence and more. It’s a simple but powerful way to motivate yourself, feel more creative and get inspired.
When I dress the part (of whatever it is I’m doing), I feel more empowered. So if you feel like you’ve lost control of everything else around you, try putting on your most epic attire and dress your way to self-inspiration.
Sweat pants and old tees will always have their place, but sometimes, something more is needed.
So try fashion the next time you’re needing an energy boost. It works for me.
Explore more:
➤ Fashion and Creativity are Good Friends
8. Turn Your Passions Into a Business
What better way to be your own inspiration than turning your passions into your career?
Starting a business is hard. But it’s also incredibly rewarding to take an idea, turn it into value, solve people’s problems and make money in the process.
This path isn’t for everyone. And I’m hardly the person to give you all the answers. But my dabbling in creative entrepreneurship has given me an immense sense of self accomplishment and personal pride.
And I want to share this feeling.
So try it out — you never know what you’ll end up building.
Explore more:
➤ How to Start a Creative Business
9. Focus on the Small Wins
“Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, but what you do consistently.”
Great achievements live in the micro — nay, they live the nano.
Nobody ever tells you just how long it takes to become an overnight success. And awesome things are never made quickly. They’re the result of showing up everyday and accumulating a million small Ws.
Once you accept this, feeling successful gets easier. Feeling inspired gets easier.
So shift your attention to the nano and start celebrating the awesome little wins you get along the way.
Like practicing your craft for 20 minutes or publishing a new post on your personal blog — they’re small, but damn, they add up.
Get inspired by these micro achievements and keep them around as good friends. They’re a sustainable source of self-inspiration.
10. Have a Purpose — Have a Project
Your purpose is your why. It’s your reason for doing things — your goals and dreams and vision all bundled up together.
And it’s a strong source of meaning and important inspiration in life.
So if you don’t have clarity, start thinking about your purpose. And this doesn’t need to be grandiose or some long-term mission either. A simple short-term project is still awesome.
Actually, I love attaching my ‘whys’ to some sort of tangible creative project (like my music or my blogs).
Once you have clarity around a purpose, and you attach it to a project, you can get to work on it. This inevitably creates fulfillment and a strong sense of personal inspiration.
So, what’s driving you? Start there.
Explore more:
➤ How to Find Your Ikigai
Later ✌️
Being your own inspiration is a sustainable way to have more confidence, motivation and passion in life.
There are countless external sources telling us how we should do things or what success looks like, but ultimately, your values and opinions about yourself are what matter most.
So I always try to be my own biggest fan.
I focus on the small Ws, I take action on the things I said I would do and I don’t compare myself to anyone except my past self.
It’s not always easy to stay stoked, but a little intention and practice go a long way.
Want More? Nice. Here’s More.
