To discover our life purpose can be an easy process if we’re open to the possibility. A lot of the times, our fears and our conditioned past get in the way, and which are founded on false beliefs that we formed from a little child.
No one can tell us what we’re meant to do in this world because everyone has a unique path. The answer is within, we just have to listen.
There are ways, however, where we can inspire our soul, and never know what you discover about yourself.
Here are 101 ways to get inspired:
- Travel to a place you haven’t been – when we’re in a new environment and a new culture, our senses initially may be overwhelmed, however, the overwhelming feeling will eventually be replaced by a sense of curiosity and adventure. The food, language, and way of life will offer inspiration and could trigger something in you that you hadn’t known before.Travel is often used by chefs, artists and writers to elicit a new creation – a new way of cooking, a different landscape to paint, or a new milieu for a story.
- Walk barefoot – feeling the ground underneath your feet is an interesting experience. Walking barefoot helps to ground ourselves and reconnect to our centre. It also helps to connect to mother earth, as well as, offering a new experience through our feet.When we’re centred and balanced, we are ready to receive inspiration and communication from the Universe.
- Move your body through dance – somatic movement helps to shift and release any stuck energy in the body. When we’re blocked, inspiration is as well.
- Practice gratitude – having a gratitude practice helps to change our emotional state from a lower vibrational energy such as fear, to a higher state like joy and love. There are different ways to be thankful:
- Writing in your journal 3 things you’re grateful for.
- Gratitude rocks – place them either in your pocket or somewhere in your home where you see them often. Every time you feel the rocks in your pocket or see them in your home, think of something you’re grateful for.
- As soon as you wake up, take stock of a couple of things that you’re in gratitude of.
- Read a book – Successful people read…a lot! I can remember a handful of books that have single-handedly changed the course of my path, or influenced my thinking, or upended the way I did things. One such book is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, which is a beautiful coming-of age and self-discovery story. This book helped to ignite my passion for travel, as well as question who I was and how I can be better.
- Write a poem
- Walk or hike in the forest
- Feel and hug a tree
- Do a physical activity
- Be still
- Invite a friend for tea or coffee
- Swim in the ocean
- Draw, paint, sketch
- Cook a meal you haven’t done before
- Write a letter to a friend
- Go to a concert
- Roll down the window of your car and feel the wind in your hair, stick your arm out and feel the wind touch your arm
- Sing a song
- Help someone in need
- Watch a movie
- Take photographs
- Talk to a stranger and learn something about her
- Create a vision board
- Garden
- Feel the sunshine on your face
- Hug a loved one
- Play with your kids (or nieces and nephews)
- Play with your dog
- Visit a zoo
- Eat something delicious
- Be intimate with your partner
- Scream as if no one is around
- Practice yoga outside
- Unplug your devices for a day
- Go without any technology for a day (no tv, no computer, no light, etc)
- Light candles
- Let down your hair
- Pare down your things, and donate unwanted items to charity
- Walk in the rain
- Go for a bike ride and get lost in your city
- Go without make up for a day
- Wear something pretty
- Plant flowers and trees
- Make a bucket list
- Do something on your bucket list
- Do something that you’re scared to do
- Go to an art gallery or museum and soak in the art work
- Build something
- Play an instrument
- Spend a day smiling at everyone you come across (yes, strangers too)
- Go for a run
- Spend a day as if you’re a 7 year old again
- Practice being a friend to yourself
- Sleep under the stars
- Be present in everything you do
- Look through old photographs
- Listen to a friend
- Laugh
- Spend a day going with the flow, no appointments nor plans…just say yes to whatever presents itself. And don’t analyze anything.
- Pay it forward
- Lay in the snow/grass/beach, and be still
- Spend a day by yourself
- Better yet, spend the day indulging yourself
- Pick up your phone and call someone
- Go on a picnic
- Tell a wonderful story to a child
- Pay a complement
- Go on a road trip
- Visit a church, temple or mosque
- Host a dinner for family and friends
- Introduce yourself to your neighbor
- Join a local meditation group
- Play a sport
- Engage your different senses fully – don’t just look but see; don’t just smell but breathe it in; don’t just hear but listen; don’t just touch but feel
- Read someone’s biography or learn about someone who you revere
- Break your routine for a day
- Go on a train ride
- Climb a tree, rock, wall, mountain…
- Color a coloring book
- Give your time by volunteering
- Open up all your windows and blinds, and let fresh air and sunshine in
- Go to a cafe and people watch
- Daydream and let your imaginations go wild
- Skip rocks on the lake
- Walk around your city and marvel at the different architecture
- Give kisses to your kids
- Flirt with your partner (or a stranger if you’re single)
- Go to a rooftop and appreciate the view
- Build a campfire and make s’mores
- Sleep in, stay in your pyjamas and watch movies all day curled up in your bed
- Visit a butterfly or bird sanctuary
- Pick up the trash in your neighborhood
- Bake a cake for someone in your thoughts
- Go to a karaoke bar and sing your heart out
- Look at yourself in the mirror, try to really see yourself, and smile
- Make something beautiful, wrap it nicely, and give it to someone you care about
- Take a bubble bath, and read a favorite book
- Sit on a park bench and let time pass
- Play baseball in the park
- Write yourself a letter
- Just let go
Author Profile
Writer and globe wanderer, who's interests not only take her to distant corners of the world, but also to undiscovered regions of her inner Self. Marina is a student and facilitator of A Course in Miracles (ACIM). She practices forgiveness and gratitude to transform her relationship with herself and others.
As someone who generally considers themselves creative, this is a great list to spark that creative energy and makes me think about how all of these could help me get my writer’s block, that always seems to haunt me, unstuck. Thanks for the awesome resource!
I thought I was alone. But I see others struggle with depression to.
Roy, it does seem like we are, which is one of the reasons I started writing. More and more I’m recognizing that we are never alone. Thank you for sharing.