I’ve been interviewed a bunch lately. Since breaking the current Guinness World Record for “Most Ironmans Completed in One Year,” it seems I have created a little buzz. It’s gratifying that my hard work is paying off and I’m flattered by the sudden attention. But, truth be told, nothing much has changed in my world. I continue to be focused on my end goal for reasons that are meaningful to me. I do have a thought that may seem a little contrarian regarding the accolades I’ve been receiving. You see, every single day, I have people tell me how “inspiring” I am.
I’m certainly grateful if my journey inspires others, but I don’t believe that my job is to “inspire.” Nor should it be. Instead, I think, for myself and others, our job is to do the best that we can and make a positive impact as we go. If others are inspired by our actions or results, that’s awesome. But we can’t make that our goal. I clarify this, because I hear a lot of folks say they want to “inspire others.” To me, that’s not our purpose. It’s merely a by-product of our work, and it can be a slippery slope if that is our aim in life. I think it’s much more important to do the good work that we can do and let go of any preconceived notion of how others will respond or react to it.
We are the example we set. Period. The rest is not up to us to will into being. To state it a bit differently, I think there is a danger if our goal is to inspire. It’s too easy to be lured into a sense that somehow we are ordained to be above others and that we have some special gift, as if we have something that others only wish for but can never fully obtain. With closer scrutiny, that is simply our ego wanting attention and glory. And therein lies the slippery slope.
I read a statistic many years ago that only 2% of our learning and change comes from inspiration. In other words, as much as we may want to inspire others, it’s not easily done. While we all love a great success story, particularly one with an unlikely hero or monumental obstacles to overcome, we are seldom moved to change because of it. Of course that raises a question, “If you tell someone that they ‘inspire’ you, what will you do differently now that you’ve been inspired?” If you don’t change, are your words hollow? Were you truly inspired or just offering up some flattery?
I believe we’re all capable of so much and that our paths can have profound meaning and impact. Let us remain humble and generous with our gifts and the inspiration will take care of itself.
I touch on this in little more detail in a recent interview I had with Wendy Edwards of radio station WINA:
Here is the link if you are interested:
