by Kelly Beischel PhD, RN, CNE

My sister ran her first ½ marathon last weekend. I’m so proud of her, I could bust.

You see – just two years ago this week she had 3 vertebrae removed and replaced with a metal cage filled with bone graphs. The metal cage was then screwed to her adjacent healthy vertebrae. Ouch! I was so inspired by her that I actually started running today.

When I started down the path of thinking about what inspires me, I investigated the meaning of inspire. Merriam-Webster says it’s a verb causing something to happen or to be created. It can also cause someone to have a feeling or emotion.

Let’s talk about what inspires us….. I’ll go first to get things started.

What inspires me?

People like my sister who get out there and run.

Some run to be fit. Some run to cope. And the crazy ones run for the sheer joy of it. ☺

It doesn’t always feel good. But they run.

People who have the courage to be themselves, no matter what the world tells them they ‘should’ be.

My sons are living proof that having the courage to live the life you’re meant to live brings peace, freedom, and success.

People who speak the truth, whether we want to hear it or not.

You know the saying, the truth hurts, right? Well I agree. It often does. And when I hear a truth that doesn’t feel good, I have to remind myself that we only grow from a place of truth. And when it really hurts, that reminder becomes a chant.

So many people say what they think you want to hear.

But hearing the truth is actually refreshing. It can inspire us to be truthful to ourselves and to others even when it’s uncomfortable.

People who build into others.

My husband, Joe, and our daughter, Beth, are prime examples for me. Joe tutors grade school children living in poverty and mentors an 18 year old young man while Beth provides therapy to underprivileged children.

She relentlessly shows up even knowing that each day these children will take 1 step forward and 2 steps back (if truth be told its often 4 steps back).

They are literally changing the world one child at a time and this is kick ass inspiring. Don’t ya think?

Students who show up to class fully engaged.

Body, mind and spirit. Now that makes me want to leap for joy.

How can we not be inspired to give them everything we’ve got?

Students who take risks.

They courageously admit that they lack understanding in front of their peers. They come to office hours asking for help. They risk the consequence of saying “I don’t know” to their instructor rather than harm a patient.

These students inspire me to do more.

Faculty who ask for help.

It’s hard to ask for help, to admit we don’t know, isn’t it? But what if we all ‘leaned in’ and courageously admitted we need help with classroom strategies, teaching strategies, or statistical analysis? Just think how we’d grow as teachers or researchers.

The definition of inspire says that when we are inspired – we are to take action – whether to see the world differently or to act differently.

What inspires you?

What action do you take when you’re inspired? Let’s do this thing.

Reply below. Tell me what inspires you to take action or to see the world differently.