Just sit down and take a deep breath. Slowly close your eyes. Breath in: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and breath out: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Repeat this for five times. I would like to ask you a question. Who inspires you?
Who is the person who leads the life that you would like to have? Who is doing the things you would like to do? Who is a ‘great person’ according to you? Who is the person you are learning from? Who is the person you really respect? Who is the one that is your example in life? Who do you admire? Who is the one that is inspiring you?
I am not talking about jealousy. Forget that word and see other people with respect and don’t compare yourself to them. It is not about who is better or successful, but see other people as inspiration, so it will help you to take steps in your own life.
‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with’, some people say. The good thing about this is that you can choose the people around you. So it is important that one of those people is someone you admire. Is it a friend, a family member or someone else? If you don’t have anyone around you that you admire, then find someone. Become friends and stay in touch.
If it is someone that you don’t know personally or someone who has already passed away or it’s difficult to contact that person because he/she is famous, you can still spend time with that person and learn. Start with making a list of the people who inspire you and take steps. Get in touch or spend more time together. If you have people on your list you can’t reach, do something else to learn from them. Read a book from or about them, watch a TED talk, watch a documentary, listen to podcasts and read blogs.
The Dalai Lama is one of my inspirations. What I like to do is to read his books, read his quotes or I check his posts on social media. I even visited the place where he lives, but unfortunately he was not at home. Even when I don’t know him personally, I am learning from him. That is how you grow and change.
Jane Regina Sauer 