30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 11) Response
Note: This essay was written for my ENGL1302 classes, as an example essay.
In the article entitled “Two Types of Inspiration” by James Clear, which he posted on his website, he is telling his readers, instead of wasting time consuming information from others, you must apply the information to yourself, so that you can discover yourself, create something, move forward, and progress. This is active inspiration, not passive inspiration which is simply consuming information.
It is important to learn,
but do not simply use this learning to search for things to inspire you, you
need to apply what you learned to yourself and your life. Only learning from others, gaining from
others, and consuming information is passive inspiration. You learn, but it is inactive and you are not
creating. You must use active
inspiration. That is create, apply, and make something in order to discover
things about yourself, such as who you are and what is important to you.
Consuming information creates a fading thrill, but acting and being hands on
creates lasting progression or movement.
Clear defines passive
inspiration as “consuming the success and ideas of others” by watching videos,
reading articles, or listening to interviews.
He suggests that you learn from these activities, but you do not do anything.
Active inspiration is
blatantly different than its counterpart, passive inspiration. Active
inspiration is “— the act of creating things, applying new ideas to our goals,
and making mistakes — that we discover who we are and what is important to us”
(Clear).
He contrasts active and
passive inspiration succinctly by saying, “Watching someone else's success
might leave you feeling excited for a few minutes, but taking action and
applying a new idea to your life will inspire you more than anything someone
else could say” (Clear). Acquiring and
consuming is thinking. Crafting, generating, and testing is progress. You must act or create by using the ideas you
come across, and be sure to gain inspiration from creating.
Clear demonstrates what
to do when you come across ideas. “It's about stumbling across a brilliant idea
and bringing it to life in your work.
It's about finding a new strategy and applying
it your own goals. It's about learning a new exercise and adding it to your workout. The
application of ideas will always be more powerful than the ideas themselves”
(Clear).
Clear’s message is
convincing. Remember to consume, then
create. Learn, then apply. Glean, then implement. Active inspiration does not come from
consuming ideas, but by using those ideas to act and create. As Clear states, your actions, themselves,
have the power to inspire you.
Work Cited Page
Clear, James. “The
Two Types of Inspiration.” James Clear, James Clear, 24 Oct. 2018,
jamesclear.com/inspiration-types.