Inspiration has an expiration.

If you’re like me, you’ve been in the middle of work, and out of the blue, this excellent idea pops into your head. Not only is it a good idea, but it’s exciting and fun. You get distracted from the task at hand and keep thinking about this new idea. It keeps you up at night; all you want to do is focus on this idea. Eventually, you set the new idea aside and say something like, “I’ll come back to this later.”

A few weeks fly by, and you go back to that great idea. But the idea that kept you up at night no longer sounds fun. You no longer want to sit down and do the hard work to bring it to life. So what happened?

Your inspiration has expired.

I don’t remember where I first heard this expression, but when I heard it, it hit home. I’ve had so many “great ideas,” so many ideas have fought for my attention. But eventually, they all expire. Sometimes the inspiration expires in the middle of a project, but most of the time, it expires before I even begin a project.

This expression has me thinking about ways to take advantage of inspiration when it’s present, by getting the work done before it expires or preventing it from expiring. I wish I had the answer, but I do have a few things I am trying. That way, I can capitalize on inspiration when it strikes and keep myself from being pulled in a million different directions.

Is this a good idea, or is this procrastination?

When inspiration strikes, the first thing you must do is look at what is inspiring you and figure out, is this a good idea, or is this procrastination? I’ve had brilliant ideas spawn from procrastination, but many times this “great idea” is a distraction to keep me from the important work.

If you entertain every great idea that pops into your head, you’ll get nothing important done. So, when a new idea presents itself, the first thing you must do is see how it fits with your ultimate purpose. Does it align with your mission, your why, your personal credo? If it doesn’t, toss it out. The ideas that do not align with your ultimate purpose will expire fast. They always do.

Truly good ideas take time, so one way to stay inspired is to make sure the idea aligns with your Why.

If the idea aligns with your ultimate purpose, you’ll want to test its expiration date. Some ideas expire after a few hours, others a few days, others after a few weeks. So give the idea some time. If the idea persists, and it’s consistently in your mind for more than a few weeks, this might be a good idea worth pursuing.

If an idea has been persistent for many months or years, you can be sure that it’s a good idea worth pursuing. Sometimes while feeling inspired, it can be hard to do the work. Resistance will try to prevent you from executing the idea. As Steven Pressfield states in Do the Work, “Fear tells us what we have to do. The more scared we are of our work, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.” If it’s hard to execute, it might not be that your inspiration has expired, but that resistance is preventing you from completing something important.

If your stars align, and you have an idea that inspires you, it’s persistent, and it aligns with your ultimate purpose. Then take advantage of every second of inspiration given to you. You hit the jackpot. It’s like you were handed a free all-access pass to Disney Land. But eventually, it’ll expire. So when inspiration is present, don’t waste it.

Many ideas will expire. And that’s ok. Sometimes it’s best just to let the inspiration pass on by. We’re not supposed to execute every idea that comes to mind, so if an idea expires, move on to the next.

Thanks for reading! Remember, make it a great day or not; the choice is yours.

T