Inspiration

Over at Paula's Place is a monthly blog challenge for July.  Link up today's answer here.  

Day Ten:  Who inspires you?

To fully answer this question completely, I have to completely dissect the meaning of what it actually even means TO inspire someone.  Miriam Webster defines it this way:

in·spire

 verb \in-ˈspī(-ə)r\

in·spiredin·spir·ing

Definition of INSPIRE

transitive verb

1

a : to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration

b : to exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence on<was particularly inspired by the Romanticists>

c : to spur on : impel, motivate <threats don't necessarily inspire people to work>

d : affect <seeing the old room again inspired him with nostalgia>

2

a archaic : to breathe or blow into or upon

b archaic : to infuse (as life) by breathing

3

a : to communicate to an agent supernaturally

b : to draw forth or bring out <thoughts inspired by a visit to the cathedral>

4

: inhale 1

5

a : bring about, occasion <the book was inspired by his travels in the Far East>

b : incite

6

: to spread (rumor) by indirect means or through the agency of another

What truly gives me a desire to move forward in anything by drawing inward strength is... me?  Which in and of itself is kind of a ridiculous answer to this question.  I mean... I don't "inspire" myself.  But my motivation is inwardly driven.  

To be honest, I don't let others influence me.  I CHOOSE whether or not my ideals and opinions change one way or the other based on my research and observation.... not by some happenstance and lobbying of another.  

I guess I do look at others' successes in areas which I am involved and that gives me hope... but when I see successes, I tend to just want to celebrate them with others.  

Do I want to be the very best at EVERYTHING I do?  You bet your ass I do.

I do see creations by other crafters, images captured by other photographers, out of the box learning ideas fashioned by educators, real-world situations dealt with and overcome by fellow parents... I guess their ideas inspire me to push on but motivation for me is internal.  

I guess in that sense, then, the world inspires me.