Before I begin talking about the aforementioned, let me clarify something first. Yes, the title might sound dubious. In fact, it actually does sound dubious. But, as indubitably dubious as it sounds, I suppose you would be even more flustered when I tell you, that I can actually justify the title. Yes, that’s right. I can. I can do almost anything. Anything. See, I’m not being an arrogant jerk here. I’m just trying to not state the obvious by telling you that I was demonstrating my concept of the “Inspiration Amplifier”, which I know in your minds, still sounds lame. I also assure you that this premonition will change.
First of all, I would like everyone who has put aside a little time from their near hypoxic agenda to give this article a read, to know that I’m ingratiated to you for the possibly five to ten long minutes you would be spending for me. Secondly, with all the sincerity and innocence crawling across the crevices of my poisoned heart, I ask you to close your eyes for a couple of seconds and say to yourself these three magical words – “I can do”. The phrase ‘I can do’ is more often than not misinterpreted by people as ‘If he can, I can’ or ‘if she can, I can’. Honestly, the people aren’t to blame. What’s to blame is the noxious environment in which a majority of us are bred. When I say noxious, I refer to the unquenchable thirst of man for power over another, a sense of superiority, a sense of feeling good about oneself, a sense of berating his counterparts. Feeling good about oneself, many would feel is actually a positive trait, but it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that the way we are being raised incessantly nurtures our inner demons to stimulate our thoughts and actions towards the sole idea of getting the mountain by knocking off another. Competitiveness, I believe is an amazing trait that needs to be balanced out to perfection, much like maple syrup to a batch of delicious pancakes. Too much on one side is unpleasant; too much on the other is folly.
On the contrary, by my understanding of the same phrase, I believe that it simply means what you read. Even a million years of research would translate ‘I can do’ as ‘I can do’ and in no way an extra-terrestrial paraphrasing that we usually are very fond of. It does not mean that I suggest you take everything literally. We say a lot of things that we don’t mean, but paraphrasing is an often misused, yet powerful tool of literature. Paraphrasing generally indicates that you use words that enhance the clarity of what was actually said. This literary tool again is like the Ring of Power from Lord of the Rings. You paraphrase efficiently, you save middle earth. You do the same in excess; you unleash innumerable ugly orcs to destroy everything in their path. We also come across a lot of successful people who have become what they are now because they took inspiration from other people like friends, family, relatives, leaders, sportsmen, celebrities etc. It’s not like they had an eye to eye conversations with the people that inspired them. Generally, people believe what they read. And great people are magnets to tabloids all over the globe. When you read something about someone, your mind automatically puts you in their shoes. That’s the beauty of reading. It taps an unfathomable depth of imagination and creativity you ignorantly withhold. And when you read only good things about a person, your mind is obviously inclined to achieving great things, just like the person you’re reading about. You draw inspiration from their lives. You want to be like them. You tell yourself that you have to do what they did to become something great. You live the life of a shadow, with the knowledge that your future is secure if you do things right. But then again, this depends upon how you read into the text, how you paraphrase.
So, the first step to inspiring yourself is the ability to harness the power of paraphrasing. When you see something, you must be able to decide whether to look at it superficially, or whether to investigate it for a deeper meaning. Let me give you an example, Adolf Hitler. I can go on and on about the tyranny, unimaginable monstrosities, the fascism and the evil that he spread across the world, but let me also take a moment to tell you that Adolf Hitler, the most loathed personality of all time, was a great strategist. He was a lover of art, he played the bassoon, and he rose from the position of a regimental runner to the most powerful man of his time, an excellent orator and a visionary. These are traits to die for, in my opinion. When we raised our children, we told them that Adolf Hitler was a bad, bad man who wiped out an entire race of people because he didn’t like them, but not one of us told our children the traits that would have made him a person worthy of worship. All this, because the tabloids, the radios and the messengers could only in all fairness give priority to the cruel dictator that he was.
So, when you say “I can do”, be selfish. Do it for yourself. Not for the people around you, but for yourself. After all, you are your only friend, and no one can inspire you as much as you can inspire yourself. Look around you; spot the things that you think will inspire you. For some people, it might be a good book. For others, it might be an ever-growing affinity towards what they do, their communication with other people, nature, different thinking process or the way they choose to spend their time. Sources of inspiration are everywhere. You can draw inspiration from a chick hatching from an egg, or from Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. It all depends upon the kind of person you think you are. Discover new ways to inspire yourself. Believe in yourself. Push your limits. Do the unthinkable. Attempt the hazardous. Learn from your errors. Repeat your endeavours, getting better at it each time. Defy the cliché. Do it wrong, but be the only one to do so. Do not follow the crowd; make a crowd follow you instead. Make a name for yourself by standing for what you actually believe in and not what you’re being led to believe in. Love what you do. Accept the consequences. Own up to your faults. Take responsibility for your actions. Be yourself. Don’t wait for someone to come along and feed your ambitions, pick an opportunity to inspire yourself to the zenith of your capabilities and beyond. Enhance your self-confidence by gently stroking the inquisitive genius in you. Make yourself better. Amplify your senses. Amplify your emotions. Amplify your curiosity. Amplify your creativity. Amplify your vision. Amplify your sources of inspiration.
Be your own “Inspiration Amplifier”!
(Ps – I do not adore Adolf Hitler.)
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– Written by Anirudh Rohit C.
