Drawing Inspiration from Community—Sharing is Truly Caring!

“To move forward you have to give back.” – Oprah Winfrey

Last month, we talked and shared around the theme of courage. How we form it, how we define it, where we source it. I happen to believe that we need to have some courage in order to seek and find inspiration, the theme of this month. 

To be inspired is to also be open to inspiration. When we are inspired, we can light things up in our lives and do unimaginable things. What if Michelangelo never leaned into the urge to pick up a paintbrush? What if Thomas Edison wasn’t curious enough after countless failed attempts to stick with creating the filament lightbulb? Being inspired is an exhilarating feeling, but it can also feel scary since it usually means we are about to attempt something new.

It behooves us humans to be inspired! But inspiration doesn’t just happen to us. We have to be active participants in seeking it ourselves and providing it to others. Seeking inspiration can feel like lonely work, which is why I want to really emphasize what an incredible personal download it can be to get your inspiration bucket filled by others!

If you’ve been following my journey for a while, you know that I’m on a mission to be the first woman to climb the Second Seven Summits. My next training climb for K2, on the borders of China and Pakistan, is the famed Mount Everest!

I am leaving for Everest soon. 

I will be eating bland food, sleeping in a tent, and tolerating life at high altitudes. I will be far from my family for a month, and it will be many weeks away from the conveniences we all cherish. (Also, if you’ve been following me for a while you know that, as much as I love the dirt and grime of mountaineering, I also love a good hair blowout at my favorite salon.)

There are moments when I question: Why am I doing this? This is a big, exciting, and scary goal I’m committed to, but it takes a toll again and again and I have to renew myself, especially after being away from my seven kids for large chunks of time. The mountains call me, they pulse through my veins, and when I come home from an expedition, I feel that I am simultaneously a new person yet also the same person. The physical and mental challenges I experience out there in a condensed format I bring home and into all that I do, and I know I am a better person because of it. 

I share all this because, when I need to re-inspire myself to get back into the next phase of my goal, I source my inspiration from looking back from where I’ve come, but increasingly more from people that are on this journey with me. That’s you all! I’m so grateful for all the comments, high fives, sharing about “mountains”, whether they be geological in nature or the kind we all have to climb and battle in life. You all share with me your mountains and it helps me climb mine. I also know if I climb my mountain, I help you climb yours. 

So, when you are low on inspiration or don’t know where to start thinking about finding it, lean into your community. Lean into the bigger picture of your “why” – why you are doing what you’re doing or chasing what you’re chasing. The energy will return, the little bit will help keep your light lit. Before long, you won’t remember you had the moments of doubt and all will be well.