Work Matters, and Volunteers Matter, but the Benefits and Motivations will often Vary.

All work matters, but it isn't just the work itself that matters; all who contribute to it matter. All sides gain.

Volunteers do some work, but for most work, those doing the work are paid. Participants learn new skills, meet new contacts, and help get things done in both cases. Sometimes volunteers get things done that paid workers might not have done. With these benefits, you would expect a long line of volunteers from those out of work.

It is usually unknown who will be showing up to volunteer on a project, and those doing the work also often meet new people from various life backgrounds. Your connections with coworkers, suppliers, recipients, and organizations can make a difference to you long after the work is done.

Those receiving the benefit of the work done are lifted, improving their lives. Volunteering, working side by side with others, connect you to other human beings. When you volunteer, you are making connections. Paid for your time or not, always do your best in your work. It matters.

When you know, you have made a difference; you feel better about yourself. Therefore, taking pride in your volunteer work and doing your best work is essential.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it

This quote is by bestselling author Charles Swindoll. Another similar thought is from a Japanese proverb:

“Fall seven times, stand up eight.”

We must react positively to falling by returning up, even if it means falling again.

Finding Inspiration Involves Taking Action That Then Leads to Inspiration →

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Many wait for inspiration to act, but it won’t come because it is the other way around. Action triggers ideas that lead to inspiration. Start with something in your emotional periphery and take the first step. Make a call, write an outline, or volunteer just once. The process and inspiration will unfold before you.

When motivation is at odds with inspiration, continue.

Inspiration is about a person reaching a point of wanting to act, whereas motivation is more about giving people reasons to take action.

Inspiration is an act of influencing people mentally and emotionally to do something creative. Motivation is something that compels or persuades you to take action. Inspiration is what pulls you towards something.

A highly motivated person takes an idea, goes out there, and won't let anybody interfere with them—that person who isn’t going to stop along the way but keeps going down the road.

What about someone who will stop on the road somewhere and seemingly be drawn off course? Perhaps what stopped them on the road was an inspiration. Unlike motivation, inspiration works in precisely the opposite way. If the reason is when you get hold of an idea and carry it through to its conclusion, inspiration is the opposite because an idea gets hold of you and takes you to a place that inspires people to think is the better direction.

Does this mean that motivation is a distraction from inspiration?

To find the answer to this question, we have to stop and think about it, but then that would answer the question and ignore the fact that the motion involved in motivation makes it easier for inspiration to find us.

Either way, it seems clear that motivation and inspiration are connected.