"When your Daemon is in charge, do not try to think consciously. Drift, wait, and obey". -- Rudyard Kipling
Ivan was obtaining his goals. After graduating from law school, he quickly moved up the ranks of Russia's professional class. His path was threatened, however, when his wife got pregnant. Fearing his hard earned successes would be in jeopardy, he retreated to his work, and became more formal in his interactions with his family.
One day, he had an unexpected accident and it became clear he was going to die. He was horrified by the thought of death and tried to block all such thoughts from his consciousness. Reflecting on his life for the first time, he could not comprehend why such a fate has come over someone with such success. What's was the meaning of this?
After spending time with his compassionate and honest servant Gerasim, he started to see the world and his own life differently. Gerasim selflessly helped Ivan relieve his physical pain. Gerasim did not fear death, noting that everyone dies. Ivan contrasted this attitude with that of his family members, who refused to admit that he was going to die. He was angry with his family for their artificiality. Ivan suddenly doubted whether he had really lived the good life after all, and realized that his artificial life, full of self-interest, had caused him to fear death. He understood that Gerasim did not fear death because he had lived an authentic life.
In a dream state, "some force" suddenly takes over Ivan, pushing him into a bright light. His hand falls on his compassionate son's head, and he feels sorry for him. He watches as his wife approaches him, full of tears and he feels sorry for her too. This triggers an awakening:
"At that very moment Ivan Ilysch fell through and caught sight of the light, and it was revealed to him that though his life had not been what it should have been, this could still be rectified... He was sorry for [his family], he must act so as not to hurt them: release them and free himself from these sufferings. 'How good and how simple!' he thought.... 'What joy!' To him all this happened in a single instant".
Finding intense joy at last for this authentic moment, he starts to sigh, stretches out, and dies in peace.
***
This tale, told in Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilysch (not far removed from Tolstoy's personal life), demonstrates the power of inspiration. Ivan's inspiration was his family, and he realized that relieving their suffering gave him the purpose and meaning in his life he was seeking.
Inspiration has a long history, originally thought of as coming from divine or
supernatural forces. In ancient Greece, the
Muses were goddesses who inspired the creation of literature and the arts by speaking directly with the human creators themselves. Perhaps due to the mystical connotations associated with the term, scientists haven't touched the concept-- until recently. In recent years, fascinating studies on inspiration have emerged, spearheaded by
Todd M. Thrash and
Andrew J. Elliot. These studies allow us to take something as seemingly elusive as inspiration and understand its operation and impact on other important psychological outcomes. As it turns out, inspiration matters.
A lot.
***
The Oxford English dictionary defines inspiration literally as "the action, or an act, of breathing in or inhaling". Here, we are concerned with the figurative meaning:
"A breathing in or infusion of some idea, purpose, etc. in to the mind: the suggestion, awakening, or creation of some feeling or impulse, especially of an exalted kind".
Keeping true to the spirit of this definition, Thrash and Elliot define inspiration as involving three main related qualities. First, inspiration is evoked spontaneously and without intention by something-- whether it's an idea that comes from within, an inspiring person such as a role model, or a divine revelation. Another key quality of inspiration is that it is transcendent of our more animalistic and self-serving concerns and limitations. Such transcendence often involves a moment of clarity and and awareness of new possibilities. As the researchers note, "the heights of human motivation spring from the beauty and goodness that precede us and awaken us to better possibilities." This moment of clarity is often vivid, and can take the form of a grand vision, or a "seeing" of something one has not seen before (but was probably always there). Finally, inspiration involves approach motivation, in which the individual strives to transmit, express, or actualize a new idea or vision.
As a first pass to capture inspiration in the laboratory and see how it relates to other psychological constructs, Thrash and Elliot developed the "Inspiration Scale", which measures the frequency of experiencing inspiration. The scale measures inspiration as a trait, assuming that people differ from one another in the frequency with which they experience inspiration in their daily lives. In their initial set of studies, they found that trait inspiration (as measured by their Inspiration Scale) predicted people's ongoing daily experiences of inspiration and those who scored high on the Inspiration Scale also tended to score high on a range of other traits characteristic of inspiration: evocation, transcendence, and approach motivation.
In terms of evocation, trait inspiration was related to Openness to Experience and absorption (i.e., flow), but not Conscientiousness. This supports the view that inspiration is something that happens to you and is not willed.
In terms of transcendence, trait inspiration was related to the drive to master work but was negatively related to competitiveness, which reflects a non-transcendent desire to outperform competitors. Inspiration was also positively related to intrinsic motivation and negatively related to extrinsic motivation. Therefore, what makes an object inspiring is its perceived subjective intrinsic value and not how much it's objectively worth or how attainable it is.
In terms of approach orientation, trait inspiration was related to Extraversion and Openness to Experience, traits which are tightly linked to each other and have both been tied in prior research to the dopamingeric neurotransmitter system. Dopamine has mostly activating effects on behavior and cognition and contributes to approach behavior, positive affect, sensitivity to rewards, broad thinking, and mental flexibility. Inspiration was also related to important psychological resources, including self-efficacy, self-esteem, and optimism. Importantly, many of the associations found with trait inspiration were also found when looking as inspiration as a state. While people may differ from one another in the frequency of their daily inspiration, anyone who experiences inspiration at any time can reap similar benefits.
