This is Day 9 of the 21-Day Positivity Challenge held in March 2012, where we work on being positive for 21 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the tasks.
21DPC Day 9 Question
Today’s positivity question is:
Who Inspires You? And Why?
(For those with Live a Better Life in 30 Days, check out Day 18: Evaluate Your Relationships for further reading.)
Your Task:
- Reflect and answer today’s question(s). Write as few or as many words as needed to fully express yourself.
- Embody the qualities you admire in the person. Today, make a special effort to embody those qualities which you admire in the person you stated in #1. For example, if Person A inspires you because of his/her genuinity, then embody genuinity 110%, in your every thought and action, today. Continue to do that for the rest of 21DPC.
- Identify at least one positive thing about your day. It may be something small or something big – as long as you deem it as something positive, it counts. If you have more than 1 thing to share, then by all means, go for it!
Share Your Answers!
After you are done, share your answers in the comments area.
If you’re doing this at the start of the day, you can post your answer for today’s question first, then work on your positivity task throughout the day, then return at the end of the day to share your results for your positivity task and your end-of-day positive reflection.
Check out other participants’ answers. Pick 1-2 participants’ answers and make a meaningful reply to them. Engage in the discussions. This is a group course, so let’s support each other in these 21 days!
Look forward to reading your responses!
(Images: Happy girl in the field, Pink tulips)
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Who inspires me? Many people inspire me. The most integral of these is my Grandmother; she has inspired every aspect of my life through her nurturing love and unconditional support.
She is a grand woman, not only did she raise her own four children, officially adopted three others and over the years has offered a home to many, including all of her grandchildren- and friends.
Nan instilled in us from a very young age to show kindness towards every living human and creature. Everyone is welcome in our home, there has always been extra chairs stored away and big pots on the stove just in case there were more mouths to feed than expected.
My Nan and I are very close, without having my mother close by, I have always relied on Nan for motherly advice and for guidance. She has given so much to people through her kindness and taught so many people the true meaning of life.
She was only able to attend three years of school, in those days it was mainly boys and the well off that recieved schooling and the others went to work on the farms and around the town. Instead of getting stuck behind, my Nan taught herself and her siblings to read and write, do mathamatics and most things that students would usually learn. She never gave up and is still, in her mid 70’s, the most intelligent person I know.
There are so many reasons why I admire my Nan, she inspires me every day to be a better person. She is one in a million!
Who Inspires You? And Why?
– My boyfriend as he is mature, has more life experience than me, he is grounded, results oriented, peaceful, gentle, loving and positive.. I love him and it is a pleasure to see this love growing slowly..
– My Manager as she has a great sense of humour, is very generous, positive, encouraging, gentle and wise.. I feel very lucky to have her!
– My Dad and my Mom, I am grateful for all they gave me and this is so deeply encouraging to know that I can count on them regardless of my current location and other circumstances..
– My Grandmother (Mom of my Mom, women rule!) – I love her and value her for her life wisdom, would really like her to share more goodness with me more often!
– World-class leaders and authors: Robin Sharma, Tom Butler-Bowdon, Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Brian Johnson, Alexandra Jaye Johnson, Cheryl Richardson, Louise Hay, Marianne Williamson and many others..!
– My friends from Toastmasters… for all their encouraging and positive way of being, courage and desire for growth..
– My dance teacher – Juliette for being such a wonderful, gentle dancer and teacher, and a very kind, generous, positive, warm women!
– Celes and the whole PE community, this is a very beautiful place on Earth to be in! Thanks, Guys and keep rocking! :clap:
– Other wonderful people that I met and did not mention here.. I am grateful to have them in my life!
Love, :heart:
P.
Ok i will catch up with questions for last few days so i will be shorter in my answers than usual…
So i can get inspired anywhere and by anyone mostly…just by positive energy, love and passion in people…latest I’ve been most inspired by writer and motivational speaker Robin Sharma but there are many more great authors and people whose work and life inspire me on daily bases.
I am on positive road of fulfilling my goals and day 9 of this challenge was no exception.
### Day 9 ###
I would say that Sam Wolfe Connelly is someone who inspires me, although indirectly. He is a young, but growing artist.
His works are primarily graphite based, sometimes applying washes or digital color at the end. Still, the quality is like watercolor, smooth and smoky. I love it at first glance.
So he inspires me to draw, which I love to do. But not just to draw a piece or two. He inspires me to follow my dreams and the joys/ pains that follow from doing what one loves. I have always been told not to pursue art and I had internalized it without knowing. But now… I have finally realized… I will pursue a career in the field of art. C=
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A positive thing that happened to me was having a great talk with my friend. I needed someone to vent to, and it turns out she has some things beyond the usual school things to vent about. So I shared some, she shared some. In the end, I feel closer to her and so happy she decided to trust me. (=
Different people inspire me for different reasons. among them is my former roommate, she inspires me to be a spiritual person and has helped me in my spiritual journey. When i look at her i believe that anything is possible and also that being happy doesn’t necessarily mean having the best of everything, but enough to make you look forward to get up in the morning.
A positive thing that has happened today,( though the day hasn’t ended yet), is that i have been able to do some of the thing i’d normally procrastinate from doing.. its a great start of the day for me.. and it makes me believe more and more that for things to be better the first thing is just wake up… try and stay positive and watch as some good things unfold for during the day!
The one person I can think of that inspires me is my best friend Gloria that lives across the country in Washington State. We have been close since 1993 although we grew up together in the same area. She is a couple years younger than me and from the time we met she has inspired me.
She has been through many ordeals and she embraces what is important to her. The thing that inspires me the most is her commitment to her family, friends, and work. She joined the Airforce, met her husband, had a beautiful daughter and although she has faced many obstacles she stayed the same sweet person that I have always known her to be.
I want to handle life and not be as bitter about the things that have happened to me.
In saying this, I felt very proud of my 9 year old who sang in a talent competition for her school. She sang “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry and it was so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. So I embraced some of what I admire about Gloria in putting all my stress aside for that moment and just feeling my daughter’s voice and words in my heart.
There are several people I admire and for different qualities that they exhibit.
I admire a very well known politician for his courage, wisdom and eloquence. He have the courage to do the right things even though he know he faces an uphill battle. Even though he knows he will not be popular and that many people will be against him. But he believes in what is right and set out to accomplish it. He is wise and thinks through a solution very carefully and thoroughly, never superficial and thinking of stereotypes, just thinking from practical point of view. I admire his ability to convince and influence people to his cause. He ability to explain something complex into something simple and easy to understand.
I admire a simple person which I chanced upon during my early work years for her calmness and down to earth approach to things, never arrogant, never think too highly of herself. Just thinking through what needs to be done and acting on it. I admire her “smartness” and sensitivity.
I admire a senior professional for his hard work and dedication to what he believes in and working hard on them. Sometimes it means more work for him but he never take that into consideration but more from the angle of how it will be useful to the objective of the project.
I admire my current boss, for his sensitivity and trustworthiness. He is humble and sensitive to the ground sentiments and have a very different approach to getting things done. He trust his staff and never pressure them, taking the pressure all onto himself. Even though he faces tremendous pressure, he rarely pass that pressure onto us. This is sometime I greatly admires.
My pledge:
Today I will make a special effort to embody all the qualities I admire in all these people and make a difference to my life. Make a positive change that I believe in and start doing something different. Starting today.
I know it will not be easy, I know I may give up, I know I may face pressure and unpleasant events but I also know I believe I can try even if it means I may give up (but I never will, I will just try to translate that into some other approach, no point feeling defeated and stop). I will stop when I am dead.
Powerful words to me, can I live up to them, I don’t know but I will try and never give up. Never.
My boyfriend (of almost three years) is a kind and thoughtful man … a great role model for the days when I’m so busy that I become self-centered.
Cleaned out a couple of my junky craft doors … how’s that for an accomplishment?! Feels great …
Wow…I’ve been pondering & searching for this answer nearly my entire life…because in my actual life, there has never been anyone. Seriously. For real. Which is one of my problems and I’ve just recently come to the conclusion that I need to stop searching for someone to inspire me and deal with the fact that I am obviously stuck having to inspire myself, and sticking with authors and such. In my real life all I have ever had is inspiration as what not to be. So, I am now working on inspiring myself.
It was a beautiful day!
There are several friends I admire for their positive attitude and resilience against other people’s negativity or malicious actions. This is something I struggle with. I had a kind of disheartening experience in a social situation recently where a few acquaintances didn’t even seem to notice me to say hello. After it happened, I started coming up with excuses. The lighting wasn’t great, there were a lot of people, they might not have recognized me in my glasses. These things could be true, or these people were just not being very friendly. On the other hand, I didn’t say hello, either. When I think about the friends I mentioned earlier, they would always have a smile and a greeting for everyone, even those who slighted them in the past…and they are always the first to offer it. I used to think doing this made you look desperate or needy, but I have never thought anything negative about someone who took a moment of their time to say hello to me. And, if someone didn’t greet them, they would just focus their attention on the people who did and the people who want to interact with them. They probably wouldn’t spend much time at all thinking about it. I want to develop more resiliency and think about all of the great positive things happening in my life instead of petty, negative things. In a way, those people who decided not to greet me are not people I really need to have in my life. It’s a quick way to discover that we would probably not develop a healthy, mutually enjoyable friendship. So, that is something to feel positive about.
I certainly try to be more positive (hence undertaking this challenge) but resiliency doesn’t come overnight. I have found that when someone else’s actions hurt me, it helps to engage myself in self-improvement activities (like writing for this challenge, reading, exercising or cooking healthy food, to name a few). I think right now there are a few self-esteem problems I’m having (worrying about trying to find a job, my parenting skills) that are really making me more weak in defending myself against negativity.
One positive thing that happened today: I got to enjoy a mostly peaceful, relaxing breakfast…a big accomplishment in my house.
Who Inspires Me and Why?
Celes is a huge inspiration in my life. Through Celes’s work I have become more serious about setting and achieving goals, found a life purpose, been introduced to meditation, learned about taking action consistently, improved my health and fitness, and maybe most importantly to look inward for the answers I seek. This site has been absolutely essential to making my life better. Thanks Celes!
Celes inspires me with her proactiveness, level headed intelligence, and passion for excellence. I will do my best to embody those principles over the next day.
One positive thing that happened to me yesterday (I’m doing this a day late) is I had an amazing morning jog. Also I my diet was really good yesterday. I had a few days where my diet wasn’t the best but now I’m following my plans again.
Hey Matt, thank you for your kind words! YOU inspire many people on PE with your passion towards growth and consistently taking action, regardless of whatever obstacles stand in your way. I just checked out your 30 Day Health and Fitness Challenge in the forums and your openness in your daily logs is very invoking. I look forward to reading your progress in your challenge. Keep up with your great work; you’re doing incredibly well with your goals.
A note to everyone here – Remember that even if things may seem stagnant sometimes, the physical reality is denser than the spiritual world, so whatever shifts in your consciousness will take some time to reflect in the real world. Just keep up with your consistent action and the changes you seek will come sooner than later.
Thanks so much, Celes. I truly do like having the community around so we can all share our goals and success with each other.
That’s great advice too. I’ll keep that in mind while I work on all my goals throughout the year.
There is one person I have really grown to love and has inspired me so much. She is so sweet and funny. I really love how her example shines and how she isn’t afraid to be herself. She helped me realize I can make changes and make myself a better person. She leads by example and is a wonderful teacher.
I really think I will take her lead in not judging others and inspiring others to live up to all that they can become.
One postive thing about today is I got a wonderful new idea for a story.
This was very wonderful. It is hard to find someone that leads by example. I also think it is terrific that you write. Wishing you the best at accomplishing your goal with your story.
my boyfriend inspires me because he has such a positive attitude towards everything no matter how bad the situation may be and at times i wish i possessed such attitude.he always tries to help everyone who needs a hand ,puts others before himself and as he always say “cant” is not a part of his vocabulary. im always inspired because the way he work so well and rarely get mad makes me smileeeeee…..:)turning negative into positives all the time is not such as easy thing yet he do it with ease.
positive thing:i was willing and patient today something i don’t do regularly but im trying.
I use to be inspired by one famous person, yet that feeling of being inspired by him vanished.
Now, I believe I’m inspired by my boyfriend, and I just got to that conclusion :D
He changed me a lot and I think he made me a smarter person.:)
The most inspiring person currently in my life is definitely my boyfriend. I’m amazed at how wise he is for his age (20!), how far ahead of anyone else his age, how well he understands and embodies the essence of happiness.
He loves himself and treats himself well, but without being self-centred, his self-love allows him to be a great and agreeable person towards basically anyone he meets.
He chooses to be happy, because he can, not from circumstance, but from an active choice to BE happy. He’s simply happy because he can, because he decided years ago to live that way.
He sees the positive things in life as well as the negative, but chooses to focus on the positive and not exaggerate the negative, he appreciates the ordinary that is invisible to so many, he appreciates everything that is good about his life… He is immensely grateful and shows his gratitude and joy openly and honestly.
He is generous with his love, his time and his money. He loves me with his whole heart and never lets me doubt it, he shows me his love every single day… He is a fantastic listener, he gives interesting questions to ponder to nudge you in the right direction to finding solutions to your problems, but without giving you his opinion or a plan to follow unless you outright ask for one, he helps you figure stuff out by yourself by asking the right questions.
He is there for me, his friends and his family whenever we need him. He radiates calm and relaxation and simply being with him makes my day brighter and my heart lighter.
He knows how to live well and does it. He doesn’t let worry spoil his happiness for him, doesn’t torment himself with “what-ifs”. He lives in the moment, from day to day, at peace with the world and himself.
He is extremely friendly, open to other people and cultures. He travels alot and makes a point to visit a new country every year.
His attitude to life is the most beautiful I have ever encountered in real life, and it is a great honour for me that this young man accepted my love when I offered it to him… I sometimes ask myself how I even deserve such a great guy.
I admire him deeply, because he has gained such deep wisdom and understanding of happiness at such an incredibly young age. Some people never figure it out…
Oh, good things that happened… went to Judo with my boyfriends family. So good to excercise again… Spent the day with my boyfriend, got some photos done with him for my final project.
I’m inspired by people, people around me, people caring about me, even naysayers who exist for a reason even if I do not care about their negative thoughts.
I’m mostly inspired by Jesus Christ : A real inspiration for my personal development. Why? Just read the New Testament and you’ll know why. He is the most influential and inspiring coach of all times.
Every time I witness love, in any degree, I am inspired.
Positive: had a wonderful final round interview.
The person that inspires me the most is my husband. I could probably write a novel as to the many why he inspires me, but the short of it is that he’s just a good person. He tries to see the good in everyone and it’s easy for him to make friends where ever he goes. He’s a very generous person and wouldn’t hesitate to give you the shirt off his back if he thought you could use it. I also love his childlike curiosity of the world and how he can stop what he’s doing to admire a unique looking tree or a large boulder.
Something positive about the day was that I became one step closer to finishing my office and thus one step closer to working from home!
My inspiration in a major scale right now is Steve Jobs. It all started when I watched his speech on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc) – it was a huge motivation. It showed this person who has this awsome attitude towards life – can you imagine, this person is doing what he truly loves! And I understood that this is the only way to succeed and be happy in ones life. Now I am reading his biography by Walter Issacson and i can say – it’s amazing. I guess the most biggest quality that I admire in him is – he doesn’t care what people will think of him, because – hey, he just does what makes him happy, he follows his heart. I want to have such a complete, full personality that is strong and passionate.
Another inspirational figure for me is Will Smith and you can also watch a fantastic video on him too – on the amazing youtube :)) i admire his willingness to work hard to get where he wants and I agree that talent is nothing without skills. The same qualities that they share with Steve are: passion, focus, hard work, love for life and high pitched goal. And disciple.
I now have found and seeked out the qualities that I admire in people and now I have to make the mine. I will sweat as much as I can to get there. :dance:
Positivity of the day:
I watched the movie “Velmont” with a very young Colin Firth, all alone and enjoyed it alot!
Who inspires me? And why?
:bow: I’m easily impressionable because I feel constantly that I can learn from others. So almost on a daily basis, from moment to moment, I feel like I’m constantly being inspired by people whose character is upright, whose personality is strong and whose traits include strength and courage. I admire people who go all the way out to help others. I admire people who display high energy and are passionate about life and living. These are what I want in myself. They represent who I want to be.
:angel: For today, I want to be strong… not just being physically strong but also emotionally strong. I want to be able to go about my task today with resolute and swiftness and no hesitation. I want to feel unstoppable today.
:clap: One positive thing about my day today is taking the public transport… I know this isn’t anything big deal. But someone who drives to work on a daily basis, being able to take the public transport really help me appreciate some small things in life… like enjoying a little snooze on the bus, looking at the passing scenery outside, watching the world go past.
A lot of people inspire me..from many walks of life…and i think everyone out there has got a lesson for us.
I known people who are so much filled with passion that they are just brimming with it…Just being with them felt great…Seeing their energy just uplifts me…be it their work/passion for music, society, career or anything.
Then there are great Leaders, authors whose work inspires me to go furthur. Currently I am reading Robin Sharma, and he is a source of great inspiration for me.
I remember once we (friends) were just hanging out and an idea just sprung up….we started sharing something positive about every person in our class, that one fine quality which we would like to have…and the exercise resulted in such beautiful qualities , even from those people whom my friends hated… at that time i realized that everyone has to offer something..its just a matter of perception… :angel:
My positive thing : talked to a friend after a long time..felt great.. :)
Who inspires you and why
My husband truly inspires me, he is so in peaceful with himself and I always feel he naturally knows by heart all this personal development stages, he justifies them so naturally without thinking already. He was failed in school in swimming lesson and had to stay at school for the whole summer becouse of this and he did not give up, not only he passed the exam after 25 years now he every year attends the international swimming race consisting of swimming 6km in bhosphorus, and believe it or not he swims everyday in his lunch break – to have the time he does not eat at the cantine but takes a sandwich. He attends several other swimming races and he is very happh about his development. I admire his determination and consistency, I am generally weak in this terms if the case is my personal development. Somehow I always prioritise my other responsibilities against other people, to my work etc.
Embody the qualities you admire in this person
I congratulate myself for the dicipline till now I am showing for my self development recently, and I aim to keep this life long, as my husband makes for his swimming passion. I also love to have a hobby for myself and am thinking about it
Positive things
I had an interesting interview
had a fun evening with my husband
got my best friend on the phone appreciating for my gratitude message
WHO INSPIRES ME?
To this day, The Headmistress at my High School inspires me…..And that was a lonnnng time ago!!!!
But her noble virtues are eternal, and I rest in the bouquet of the memory of her gracious, elegant self. She was struck by polio at an early age, and always wore a metal brace throughout her life. But what I recall her wearing was the beautiful smile that lit up her whole face! It was by far, the most radiant, glowing smile! That alone inspired/inspires me. I have a gorgeous photo of her that I treasure very highly, and I automatically smile anytime I see that picture of her beautiful, beaming face. And it is that and her light-filled spirit that I treasure with all my heart.
When I think of Miss Healy, I think of her courage, indomitable spirit, her heartwarming personality, her optimism, and the unmistakable glow about her. Miss Healy was brilliant, but her brilliance wast not solely about her achievements and successes, awards and accolades, and guidance as Headmistress and teacher. It was about her generosity of spirit.. She was so generous with positivism, so loving in her tone, her attitude, so encouraging in her manner….encouraging to the point of being uplifting.
As a teacher, Miss Healy was superb. I was very inspired by her love of English Literature and American Literature, and I learned so much about the spirit behind the story or poem. She showed us how to glean the spirit that gave birth to the work, what was behind the story, which included the writer’s reason for writing it. The characters in books came even more alive when Miss Healy was teaching. The poems became so alive… I became more alive! Being in her classes and in her presence was a privilege. It was a joy to hear Miss Healy speak. She was not only articulate, she was eloquent beyond compare. Her conversational skills were amazing. Just the right words, spoken at the just the right time.
Miss Healy brought out the best in others. Her twinkling eyes conveyed a liveliness and animated spirit to such a degree, it was energizing. Miss Healy motivated her girls (all girls’ preparatory school) to be the best we could be. She had a great laugh too, and a great sense of humor that went along with all that cheeriness. :D
Miss Healy was a very sensitive soul, and i recall her getting all teary-eyed and sad on numerous occasions (I was in school there for 8 years). She was attuned to many social/environment issue…in fact, I don’t think there was much she wasn’t aware of/ in the pulse of. Miss Healy kept very current. Her emphasis/mission statement of the school was, and is still based on academic, aesthetic, physical, and philosophical/spiritual development. We all were guided and cherished throughout our school years, with Miss Healy at the helm.
After my father died in 1994, Miss Healy attended the funeral, and invited me to meet her for dinner. Her generous invitation thrilled me. We had the BEST time, complete with deep sharing from the heart, and just the joy of it all… great animated conversation, a very joyful meeting, a great dinner, and fine company. That time together is a very special memory for me.
Occasionally, Miss Healy and I corresponded by letter.. I have her uplifting, beautiful messages close by in a treasure book, so that I might always commune with her beautiful, magical compositions. :heart:
It was a sad day last December, 2011, when Miss Healy passed away not long before her 98th birthday. What a full, rich, exemplary life this extraordinary woman had on countless lives. She is always a living treasure for me, smiling, encouraging, shining the way with her smile and understanding heart. :D :heart: Miss Healy made such a difference in soooo many lives. :angel:
********
I would like to embody Miss Healy’s indomitable spirit, her courage, stalwart confidence, gentle spirit, her sense of humor, her eloquence, optimism, and compelling “joie de vie” that touched all and everything she, as a guiding force, so profoundly influenced. :heart:
My PhD supervisor inspires me. She is amazingly good at what she does, but she’s also really friendly and approachable. Our meetings feel like I’m discussing my work with a friend. Also, despite being so busy with a job that really isn’t 9-5 (and the job I’m hoping to have one day), she has time for her family, to go to exercise classes, to go out. She has such a human attitude towards work as well – I can be perfectly honest with her if I’ve had a bit of a motivation-slump and she won’t be angry. She gave me a fantastic opportunity to work on a project with her before I started the PhD, too, which has opened loads of doors for me already. She’s basically the sort of lecturer I want to be ‘when I grow up’!
My grandmother inspired me. She died nearly two years ago, but she was an amazingly strong woman. She knew herself and her opinions and wasn’t afraid to share them. Her honesty was sometimes bordering on the tactless, but you could always trust her for a straight opinion.
Like mother, like daughter – like my grandmother, my mother inspires me :) No, both of my parents inspire me. I wrote about them quite a lot for the ‘friend you appreciate having’ question. Suffice to say, I think a lot of people bring up their children very differently to how they were brought up. Maybe they just have their own opinions, maybe they had an unhappy childhood and they want to make sure their children don’t have the same bad experience – but whatever it is, I will be bringing up my future children like my parents brought me up. They encouraged me to form my own opinions and express them, pursue knowledge, be my own person and stay true to myself when things got tough.
I think, to embody these qualities, I need to make sure I continue giving myself enough time to relax, enjoy the parts of my life that aren’t work, and spend time with the people I love. I need to carry on working on being assertive, on believing in myself. And even though I don’t have children, I can still encourage the people around me to be true to themselves, and to respect their opinions, just like my parents did for me when I was growing up.
A positive thing about yesterday? Impromptu cinema trip, a lovely conversation with a friend who I don’t know particularly well yet, giving a presentation that went well, getting a gait analysis done by a really friendly, helpful, careful guy and buying new running shoes (that don’t make my knees ache!!) AND getting them at a 30% discount because the store was having a sale – and getting a refund on something when I thought I was really going to have to argue my case for it. A good day all round :D
Urgh! I have no idea why that posted as a response to your comment instead of a separate one! I’m really sorry :(
I guess – hooray for inspiring academic figures?!
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