Motivation vs Inspiration

"Motivation is when you get hold of an idea and carry it through to its conclusion, and inspiration is when an idea gets hold of you and carries you where you are intended to go." ~Dr Wayne Dyer

Recently I was talking with my friend who made a crucial point. Motivation and inspiration work differently even though both help to achieve your goals. This statement ignited so many questions in my mind. What differentiates motivation and inspiration? And how do each of them affect our lives?

While finding answers to my queries, I realised that both motivation and inspiration are great tools. Both reside equally and is of much need at different points in life.

So today, we will discuss some differences to understand the clarity so that you may have a clear sense of both.

1. The dictionary describes motivation as a reason for acting or behaving in a particular way. It originates from the word motive that means need or desire that stimulates your actions and behaviour in a certain way.

And inspiration, it means the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. It is not a random idea striking your mind from nowhere. It is a process where you get inspired to do something, to think or act.

2. Motivation is a trigger, an external push that compels us to stream down our actions and focus. Just like morning coffee, it wakes you up for some time and then you again get back to being lazy in case you miss to drink a cup of coffee back.

Inspiration is an internal pull, a driving force that helps us to give our best. It does not fade away with time. It stays long enough until you achieve it.

3. Motivation is a workspace tool. It helps the managers to keep their employees on their toes. The employers motivate them so that they keep working hard, stay with the current company and encourage them to make the best of their efforts. Career growth, salary hikes, exam results, assignment submission, rewards & recognition and getting fit are some of the many reasons people feed on motivation. It is more of focusing on the outcome that tests your patience and perseverance. But, like everything else in this world, these things are temporary.

Inspiration rejuvenates you and your surroundings by your actions and the results they offer. Here, the need does not control you. It is more sort of focusing on the process, the learnings, the excitement and joy of doing your work wholeheartedly. You do get motivated by the rewards. But the vision of those ideas is more breath-taking.

4. Motivation gives you the reason to wake up and perform. Without it, we will not have a purpose, and without that, we are nothing. Without having a reason motivation will be hard to come by.

Inspiration touches you on the inside and makes you more excited, productive and satisfied. Here, the vision wakes you up, the excitement of discoveries that you will make, inspires you to work until you reach your destination.

Motivation is having an idea and pushing yourself to achieve it. But what if, that same idea becomes so strong that it starts getting you inspired? When an idea gets a hold of you, a push (motivation) becomes a pull (inspiration). If you’re inspired, getting out of bed in the morning is rarely a push. And when an idea starts pulling you, You become an Inspiration rather than a motivator.

Today, I let you decide between the two. Sometimes motivation can help you remind how legendary and inspirational you were and can be again. But one thing for sure, both gives you a purpose in life that is a necessity for longevity. But that is a story for some other blog.

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