Many of us may feel inspired to help a cause to improve the world we live in. But, being inspired and being engaged are two totally different things. Without taking action on our thoughts, our inspirations can become wasted.
So, how do we go from inspiration to engagement?
Here are some ideas to help you get going in the right direction.
Taking Your Inspiration to the Next Level
What is Inspiration?
When it comes to inspiration, you need to think about what matters most to you. Think about the answers to these questions:
- What issues are you passionate about?
- Do you have ideas that can help to improve a situation for a particular group?
If you have a vision for your community or an organization, chances are you feel strongly about taking action to make improvements.
- What has inspired you to take action?
- Do you have a personal connection to a cause?
- Is there another direct connection in your life?
These are questions you’ll want to answer when we’re talking about inspiration.
However, you answer, you need to determine what has inspired you and what you’re going to do about it. This brings us to our next step…engagement.
How to Become Engaged to Make a Difference
Education is a big part of the engagement process. To make a difference, you may need to educate yourself more about the organization or group of people you feel inspired to help. By educating yourself, you can develop ways to start engaging yourself to make a difference. You’ll also learn if it’s necessary to engage others to help in the process. Often, it is necessary to engage others to reach your goals. Remember, it takes a village!
Once you’ve learned what you need to do so you can be effective, it’s time to take action. If you are inspired to give, you want to start taking action. Many people feel more personally fulfilled when they are also volunteering or doing other things to reach their goals. They may feel as though their philanthropy is more effective in this way. Some people find that including family members or others to participate will help their philanthropic efforts to be more meaningful. This can also help them to create meaningful bonds, a bonus in the process.
While it’s important to remain engaged in whatever type of philanthropic venture you choose, you can’t forget the inspiration that got you there. Inspiration drives engagement. Inspiration helps to give purpose and is the catalyst for engagement. Without it, no action will be taken. Remember this as you move from inspiration to engagement and beyond.
Taking Engagement and Inspiration One Step Further
Just as inspiration sparks engagement, engagement leads to other actions such as implementing a plan and realizing whether it is effective. When you become engaged and take action on the inspiration that has motivated you, you can see whether your plan is as effective as you anticipated. Should you be doing more? Do you need to take another course of action? These are all things that can be evaluated as you become engaged in your plan.
As you look at your plan, you can also determine whether your actions are fulfilling your philanthropic goals. Are you reaching the personal goals you were hoping for with your giving? If not, you can reassess and make needed changes. Your philanthropic giving should be satisfying, effective, and joyful. If one of those elements is missing, you may want to look at other options.
When it comes to going from inspiration to engagement, the key is to think about the driving force behind your inspiration. This will help you discover your passion and help you to become engaged in your efforts. From there, you can take action and then reflect on whether your efforts are as effective as you anticipated. If they’re not, then it’s time to re-evaluate and change direction. This is how you can ensure that your inspiration is having the valuable impact you initially envisioned.
Hope you found this information helpful. I personally enjoy helping people turn their inspiration into engagement and seeing them reap the rewards of making their inspiration a reality. Please let me know if I can help you in anyway through this process. Email me at richard@successwithpurpose.org.
