Our author of the upcoming "The Inspired Life" talks about her "inspiration" to study inspiration!
Susyn Reeve
“It’s the meaning that I ascribe to the circumstances of my life that result in whether I experience myself as victorious in my life, or whether I feel victimized by life. When things aren’t working the way I think they should … I really need to remember that I get to choose the meaning that I give to the circumstance.”
Toni Reece: Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project. I’m Toni Reece, and today I am with Susyn Reeve. Susyn, welcome to the Get Inspired! Project.
Susyn Reeve: I’m thrilled to be here with you today, Toni.
Toni: Thank you. Susyn, take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Susyn: Certainly, in terms of this Project, when I was a teenager I wrote in my journal, “What would the world be like if everybody loved themselves?” That question has been my inspiration in work that I’ve done with corporate clients, in the individual coaching that I do, and in my new book that’s coming out in September called The Inspired Life.
Toni: Thank you for that. Let’s go into the first question. What does inspiration mean to you?
Susyn: When I think about the word inspiration, I think about being ‘in spirited,’ living from the inside out, and what I mean by that is that my thoughts and my actions are generated and aligned with my purpose. For me, that very much has been influenced by the Gandhi quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
In my personal life and in my professional life, I’m deeply inspired by working with people to have their self-esteem blossom, and personally I’m deeply committed to expanding and deepening my capacity to give and receive love.
Toni: How do you put that into practice? Can you give us an example?
Susyn: Sure. First of all, I’m very clear that in order to live a life from the inside out that I need regular, consistent practice. I have a personal toolkit of sorts, and in that is it’s really important for me to spend some time meditating. It’s crucial that I spend time in nature.
After years of using a mantra of ‘thoughts create,’ when I’m knocked off center and feel disconnected from the essence of who I am, from the greater field of life, more often than not, sooner rather than later, that mantra pops into my mind, and it’s a reminder to start paying attention to what thoughts am I thinking that are generating the feelings that I’m having? Then, make up new thoughts that support what I desire.
Toni: I like that. Is there a specific example that you’ve applied that to as you were going through your career or your life that you could share?
Susyn: Sure. It came up with my new book, The Inspired Life. I was stuck. I could call it writer’s block, but I had just spent weeks writing about living an uninspired life, and so I was very focused on fear, anxiety, worry, expectations and judgments. I started judging myself as to whether or not I could really complete this project in the deadline that I had. I would sit down to write every day, and I’d just read over what I’d already written. I wasn’t making any progress.
Then I heard those words in my head, ‘thoughts create,’ and I thought, “Okay, what are thoughts that will help you get this manuscript completed?”
I started writing down a list of thoughts: I follow through on commitments. I get things done. I’ve already written one book; I can do this. I can ask for help if I need it.
That action of writing down possibilities that were in alignment with the result that I desired really changed my energy. I would say that I wrote the bulk of the book in a month.
Toni: Wow – by using that tool and changing your thought process, it really did get you into action, didn’t it?
Susyn: Exactly. What’s really important in this is that I spent probably 45 minutes writing new thoughts that day, because it wasn’t enough simply to have the thought. I had to feel those thoughts in my body. So at the end of that journal page after I wrote for 45 minutes, in bold letters I wrote, “Yes I can!” I could really feel every cell of my body dancing to that tune.
Toni: What has your greatest life lesson been to date?
Susyn: It’s been that humans – certainly, I am, and all humans are – meaning-making machines. It’s the meaning that I ascribe to the circumstances of my life that result in whether I experience myself as victorious in my life, or whether I feel victimized by life.
When things aren’t working the way I think they should, or I’m feeling as though the task before me is bigger than I am, I really need to remember that I get to choose the meaning that I give to the circumstance.
Toni: I love that. What would you like your legacy to be?
Susyn: I’m smiling as I say this. If I had something written on my tombstone, I’d like it to say that I was the world’s greatest lover; I’m continually discovering and expanding my capacity to give and receive love in all arenas of my life.
Toni: Susyn, it’s been a pleasure to have you on the Get Inspired! Project.
Susyn: Thanks so much, Toni. I’m inspired by talking with you.
Toni: Thank you. Take care.
Susyn: Thanks. You too.
www.self-esteem-experts.com
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