38 Things That Inspire Me
With my 38th birthday getting very close I find myself in moments of contemplation and reflection a little more often than normal. And what stands out is all of the people and things and ways there are to be inspired in life.
In the lead up to my 31st birthday, seven years ago, I wrote a blog post titled 31 Things That Inspire Me. In the years since, it’s pulled in 120,000+ views (the most of anything I’ve ever posted) and hopefully inspired some people who were looking for something. Now, seven years later I’m back and trying again with a new list of 38 things that inspire me.
Before I started, I wanted to make a few decisions. 1) I wasn’t going to read the original list until the new list was done. 2) I wasn’t going to remove anything from the new list after going back to read the old list. 3) I was going to get this posted before I turned 38 on February 21, 2020.
Creating the list took a few days. I got a base layer down and then popped back in to add to the spreadsheet I was using. I sorted by alphabet. I sorted it by made up categories. I unsorted it. In the end there are 38 things and people that inspire me. Some are more ‘of the moment’ than others. But to me, they all matter.
Check out the list. See if any of the things that inspire me match up with things that inspire you. And if you see an underlined link, consider giving it a click to check out some of the people that I find so inspiring.
Ready? Here we go!
38 Things That Inspire Me
☆ 1. Jess being a mom and teaching and loving Ollie.
☆ 2. Ollie, learning new things and being excited every single day.
☆ 3. My mom continuing to pursue and achieve new career goals.
☆ 4. The memory of my dad, reminding me that I want to be a good dad.
☆ 5. My brother Chris looking to the future with goals I never would have guessed for him and admire.
☆ 6. My friend Andy. He’s an amazing dad and a great guy. His personal story of overcoming hard times in his life and years later becoming the best dad his little girls could ever have hoped for, inspires me.
☆ 7. Pascal Siakam. This man didn’t start playing basketball until his late teens – learned the game, went college in the US from his home in Cameroon, was drafted by the Toronto Raptors, won a G League Championship, won the NBA Most Improved Player Award and the NBA Championship at the end of the 2018-19 season. This dude is bananas.
☆ 8. Taylor Swift who has worked hard, grown-up, embraced new challenges, made mistakes, dusted herself off, entertained the hell out of me, and thrived.
☆ 9. Dave Grohl – who had the biggest break of his life and career disappear when Kurt died – and then reinvented it all and has had a 25-year career as my favourite rock and roller with Foo Fighters.
☆ 10. Charlotte, Shelby, Dani, Jess, Tiffany, Richelle, Sam, Mackenzie, Erin, Brigette, and all of the other super hardworking PR women I get to work with on a regular basis at thereviewsarein.com.
☆ 11. Shea Serrano who is a bad motherfu**** and a good guy who writes NY Times Best Sellers and facilitates charitable endeavours and just started a scholarship program and uses his powers for good.
☆ 12. Maddie Storvold who is talented and also kind, creative, optimistic and realistic, unafraid to speak her mind, loves herself, knows her goals, reaches for her dreams, and is a good person.
☆ 13. Batman, Green Arrow, and other superheroes without superpowers, with deep flaws, but more than that – the desire to do good for a variety of reasons.
☆ 14. DC Super Hero Girls for giving a new generation the inspiration and realization that girls can be special and tough and make mistakes and make things right and be super.
☆ 15. Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Black Canary, Black Widow, and other badass superheroes that can inspire women and girls in ways that Batman and Superman and Spider-man can’t.
☆ 16. Kindness.
☆ 17. Personal growth.
☆ 18. Big open, bleeding, caring, vulnerable hearts.
☆ 19. Anyone strong enough to ask for help when they need it most.
☆ 20. Every parent that is trying their best day after day.
☆ 21. Anyone who has ever written a 10,000 (or more) word thing and cared about every single word and turn of phrase and been nervous about sharing it and felt like it was part of themselves.
☆ 22. Artists who create poetry and paintings and sculptures that come to them and through them for all of us to see.
☆ 23. Every single person pushing through life with the reality of a system that doesn’t make anything easy for neurodiversity, chronic illness, disability, and a myriad of other challenges.
☆ 24. Immigrants and refugees who come to Canada with whatever they may have and work to create a new, better life for themselves and the ones they love.
☆ 25. Everyone who has achieved a level of work/life balance that makes them happy.
☆ 26. Everyone who struggles with work/life balance but is doing the best that they can for what their life needs.
☆ 27. People who are organized and don’t put things off because they might be uncomfortable or frightening for whatever reason.
☆ 28. Voters who prioritize the good of the whole or those less fortunate or in need to change instead of in their own immediate self-interest.
☆ 29. Everyone who stands up for what’s right – not for them, for everyone. Women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality, etc.
☆ 30. The dedication of elementary and high school teachers who put students lives in their hands daily and do their best (and then some) to help them succeed.
☆ 31. Everyone who has made a difficult life or career decision because they knew that doing what was right was more important than doing what was easy or personally beneficial.
☆ 32. Good interviewers and presenters.
☆ 33. People who counter lies and misleading news stories, talking points, etc. with truth, context, and facts.
☆ 34. Strong women – who do what is right for them and have to put up with the bullshit misogyny that still runs rampant.
☆ 35. People who give of themselves as much as they can.
☆ 36. Songwriters who can put thoughts and feelings into words and create the music that makes them transform into something special.
☆ 37. People who understand the privileges in their lives.
☆ 38. Those who are confident in their faith, but understand that they need to put in the work to make things happen for themselves.
