HERE WAS A TIME when you felt inspired. Like you could take on the world? But somewhere along the way, things changed. What happened?

In Find the Fire, author Scott Mautz says what happens is that we lose control of the process. Most people are overcome by self-defeating beliefs and thought processes. He has identified eight culprits that drain our inspiration and explains how we can counteract them. “You can create the conditions where inspiration is much more likely to occur.” Mautz offers antidotes to the anti-muses as he calls them.

The eight anti-muses that we need to keep an eye out for are:

Fear
Fear is probably the most immobilizing of the eight. Most common are the fear of failure, the fear of change, and the fear of criticism. The antidote includes changing the way you look at fear and five specific actions you can take to ensure that you spend more energy trying to succeed rather than trying to avoid failure. Mautz also offers ten ways to overcome the fear of criticism like considering the intent and focusing on the conclusion and not the criticism itself.

Settling and Boredom
When we get comfortable, fall into patterns, and avoid uncertainty, we lose our inspiration. We need to broaden our horizons, reconnect to our why, seek growth, seek out the new, and create opportunities.

Inundation
Feeling overwhelmed cause us to shut down and miss the inspiration that is all around us. Mautz offers seven methods to prioritize and six helpful insults to hurl at your inner perfectionist.

Loss of Control
We give away our power quite unintentionally by people-pleasing, playing the victim, and self-disparaging self-talk (“Why can’t I catch a break?”). You can gain power by getting off others’ agenda, clarifying your role, taking the initiative, embracing change and not just asking for feedback, but thriving on it. Share your gifts in service to others.

Dwindling Self-Belief
When we doubt ourselves, we miss the inspiration all around us. “Such a powered-down state takes the form of low self-confidence, a lack of perseverance, a tendency to withdraw from the moment (not being fully and energetically present), and a sense of not being well-respected.”

Disconnectedness
When we are disconnected, we miss the energy we could draw from those connections and a major source of potential inspiration. Connection is based on three elements: shared purpose, trust and truth, and mutual respect. Mautz suggests ways to repair weak links.

Dearth of Creating
When we have stopped creating, we fail to draw on inspiration from our own work. We can learn to be more creative and build a sense of significance by leveraging the right stimulus, employing the right techniques, altering our environment, and by adopting the tight mindset. The STEM method is explained in detail.

Insignificance
Feelings of significance invite inspiration. Combat feelings of significance by being the champion for change, help solve a problem, become an expert, build up others, and again, take the initiative to take care of an unmet need.

Lack of Evocation
Finally, working in an uninspiring environment is well, uninspiring. Mautz lists three things you can do to evoke inspiration in your environment: First, influence the mood by being positive, enthusiastic, and optimistic. Second, find inspiration be studying things we take for granted and find remarkable. Focused appreciation. Third, manage up by, among other things, bringing the attitude you want to be reciprocated.

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 06:11 PM
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