Inspiring others takes a disciplined approach that will take time. After all, true motivation is not achieved in one day, but a little at a time every day. The good news is that your efforts at inspiration will not only motivate others, but yourself as well. This is because the best ways to inspire people come from within. It’s not so much cheerleading others to achieve their dreams, it’s leading others by example so they will follow.

“When you are living the best version of yourself, you inspire others to live the best versions of themselves.” – Steve Maraboli

Here are ten great ways to change people’s lives through inspiration. By applying these methods every day to your own life, you can affect positive change on those around you.

Admit to Mistakes

One of the main problems that is encountered when trying to inspire others is admitting to mistakes when they occur. It’s understandable because you want to show that your path is the right way and admitting to mistakes may seem to undermine your position. However, inflexibility will soon cause you to not only make mistakes, but not admit to them. Always be willing to listen and look for new options to keep your flexibility and to help in times when you are wrong. Someone who is wrong because they tried new things is a lot easier to create inspiration than one who is inflexible in their ways.

Care About Those Around You

If you don’t care, neither will they. So, it pays to care about those around you if you want to inspire them to do better. It may be difficult if you have deep feelings or concerns about the certain people in your life. However, remember that no one is perfect, not even yourself. If you can find room in your heart to understand the shortcomings you face, then you should apply that to others. Focus your attention on what is best for them and treat them as you would want to be treated yourself.

“You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others.” – Unknown

Expect the Most Out of Yourself and Others

You cannot reach your goals unless the expectation levels are set high enough to reach them. The same is true of others who will need your help through inspiration. When you find reasons to believe in those around you, communicating your expectations will act as a positive force that they can rally behind. Be encouraging with your expectations and you’ll find that they will respond in kind.

Speak the Truth

While you don’t always have to be blunt, it pays to always be truthful and couch your statements based on your beliefs. In this manner, you are demonstrating that you are not playing politics or spinning unpopular news or statements. Just be straightforward and be sure to augment your statements based on your beliefs and past history. Telling someone that they are wrong because you did the same thing years ago and it failed has a lot more impact than trying to spin a statement that holds back the impact.

Share Credit

Always be willing to share the credit whenever possible. Even if the roles others played were a minor one, let them know how valuable they were to the success of the project. By reminding everyone of their importance, you can help inspire those to do more in their lives. Sharing success is a very important trait because it leads to helping others understand how they can affect the lives of others. So, be generous with your credit so that others can be inspired by your lead.

Share Your Influences

By sharing the sources of your influences, you may find that it inspires others in the same way that you were affected. Whether it is quotes from famous people, books, or sayings in your life, the more you share them with others, the more inspired they will become. Be sure to only use the quotes or sayings from those where you found true inspiration and explain why it worked. When you show how it affected you, it can inspire others to act.

Your Vulnerability

Be honest about your shortcomings and failures in life. People become inspired by a real human being and not one who pretends to be perfect. While you do not have to go into great details, you should admit to the times when you fell short of your goals, acted in a manner unbecoming, and made the wrong choices in life. It is those who admit and learn from their mistakes that can show true inspiration. Of course, you don’t want to come off as someone who fails at everything. Instead, you should tell stories of your past failures and then demonstrate how you overcame them to become who you are today.

Take a Stand

One sure-fire way to inspire others is taking a stand for what you believe in. It can be big or small, but showing others that you take positive stands for your beliefs can go a long way towards building up confidence in others. This means that you are willing to sacrifice and that what is paid is not nearly as high as others may initially think. In the end, by showing that you can take stands, they will as well which is the best source of inspiration.

Take Time to Listen

Really listening to others demonstrates how much you care. It tells them that they matter and that the ideas they have are well worth hearing. By listening, you will be able to understand their concerns, their ambitions, and goals in life. That way, you’ll know more about how to inspire them in the future. Thus, listening can go a long way when it comes to how others can be motivated.

In the end, how you lead your life will act as an inspiration to others so that they take the same general course. Leading by example, demonstrating your beliefs, and providing the proper motivation can go a long way towards changing those around you. Plus, by affecting their lives in a positive way, they are in turn affecting others and your inspiration will spread around your family, friends, community, and beyond.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

 

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