Recently, I attended a summit with 9 fellow women authors, most of whom have dealt with adversity of their own. During a lunch time conversation, a group of them turned to me and one of them asked:

“How do you respond when someone says to you “You’re such an inspiration?” They correctly suspected that I’ve had this said to me.

I hesitated, began to say something else, but then responded “I generally start by saying thank you.” They all laughed. I don’t think it was the response they expected, and I was glad they saw humor in it.

I’m OK with being an inspiration.

I answer that way because I take being called an inspiration as a compliment.

I asked the group in return “What’s wrong with being an inspiration?”

The answer to that might depend on how you interpret inspiration. If you feel you are not worthy of admiration, or if you feel you are being put up on a pedestal, I can understand the discomfort.

The definition of inspiration is “the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions; a person, place, experience, etc that makes someone want to do or create something.” Being an inspiration means being the force or influence that inspires someone to do something or to feel a certain way.

I enjoy being that force. I am grateful that my own story and experiences have empowered me to influence people; to encourage them to embrace their differences and make choices that help them live happier lives. That’s why I put myself out there, writing books and speaking professionally.

However, you don’t want others to view what you have as unobtainable. Instead, you want the people you inspire to feel that they can achieve what you have- to create the mindset “If she can do it, so can I!”

They also need to know that it’s OK if they need a little help.

If you can set an example through your positive choices, success, survival, happiness, confidence or whatever, how is that a bad thing? If you can inspire someone to aspire to a happier, more active, more productive life, isn’t that what any of us could hope for?

What I really don’t understand is when people call me brave. But I already wrote a blog about that. You can read it by clicking HERE.

Yet, while it took some adjustment, I’m now totally fine with being an inspiration.

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