Turning Inspiration Into Action

I’m back from nine unforgettable days in India, with my family (my parents, my brother and sister, and my fiancé Paul).

Our trip wasn’t just an exciting holiday. We were in Bengaluru (Bangalore) to see first-hand the work of Divya Shanthi – a small charity which has very strong links to our church. In particular, we were there for the dedication of their new baby home (which church members have been fundraising for):

And then we headed to Delhi and did some touristy things like visiting the Taj Mahal…

I’ll be writing a bit about the trip itself, in this post and subsequent ones, but what I’m hoping you’ll take away from this piece are some tips on how to turn inspiration into action.

Inspiration Doesn’t Change Anything

I get excited easily. I throw myself into things enthusiastically – and I have a bit of a history of taking on lots of new projects and never really finishing things.

I think all six of us found ourselves inspired – and challenged – by seeing all the great work being done by Divya Shanthi. We hadn’t realised quite how much went on, or how dedicated the staff and volunteers are.

We saw the boarding home, for orphans or kids who’ve been abandoned. We saw the school, with fiven hundred kids who, in Divya Shanthi’s words, are “the poorest of the poor” – astonishingly lovely, sweet kids learning three different scripts and languages.

We saw the vocational centres, and the beautiful woodwork and textiles being made there.

We went out to villages where the poverty was even more obvious than in the slum areas of Bengalaru.

And I was struck by the very real, very obvious work being done, the difference being made. Children are being fed who’d otherwise be going hungry. Men and women are being helped into work. Teenagers are able to go to college because Divya Shanthi provides very affordable schooling.

I could look at my own life – my writing, my worries, my pre-occupations – and see it in a new perspective. Of course I already knew how lucky I am, how much I have, how grateful I should be. But this all brought it home to me in a new way.

And, like the rest of the family, I felt strongly pulled toward doing what I could to help. I was fired up and enthusiastic and keen … but there was so much obvious need that I didn’t know where to start.

In my experience, it’s pretty easy to get inspired. A life-changing trip, or a brilliant seminar, or a thought-provoking book, or simply a heart-felt conversation … whatever the exact cause, you’ve probably had the same experience. You feel that this is it, you see your life with a new clarity, and you’re eager to make changes.

It’s so easy, though, to just leave it there. That burst of inspiration doesn’t last for very long.

Our trip ended. I came home to a stomach bug, a couple of hundred emails, and a load of boxes to unpack and laundry to do.

When your seminar finishes, or when you close that great book, or when that conversation is just a memory … inspiration begins to ebb away too. Maybe you felt great for a bit, but the truth is, inspiration itself doesn’t change anything.

Action does.

Why We Get Stuck on Taking Action

When I’m inspired, I tend to have a pretty rosy picture in my head. I see myself doing all sorts of great things. In the first couple of days in Bengaluru, my head was full of thoughts about what I could do to help:

• I could write blog posts. (Except I wasn’t sure what blogs to write on, or whether it would really make a difference.)
• I could write content for their website. (Except I had no idea if that was what they wanted.)
• I could go out there and spend weeks helping with … something. (Except I’m not sure what skills I’d bring, plus it’s not a realistic financial or practical possibility.)
• I could write for newspapers or magazines. (Except that would take a lot of time, and I don’t know how effective it would be.)

…and so on, and so on.

At this stage, I often get stuck. I’m either paralysed between lots of options, and don’t have much idea what would really make a difference – or I jump head-first into loads of things and don’t make any real progress.

Anytime you’ve been inspired, you’ve probably experienced something similar. Maybe you were keen to do something – but you got overwhelmed by options. Or maybe you got carried away, started on the first thing which came to mind, and then rapidly lost momentum.

Thinking Small

It’s awesome to have grand visions and big dreams. These give us meaning, purpose and direction.

But when it comes to starting something new, it pays to think small.

However much I’d like to believe that I have the time and the other resources to make a massive difference for Divya Shanthi, I know that really:

• I have a lot of other commitments in my life already
• Having some enthused but woefully ignorant near-stranger jump in and try to “help” will be anything but useful!

So I tried to think small. I listened to what Vinay and Colleen, the directors of Divya Shanthi (and firm family friends) were telling us.

We all recognised that one of the biggest needs is for more sponsors – to help by paying the school fees for the families in the most difficult circumstances, and to pay the boarding costs for children in the hostel.

So what I want to do (and from talking to my parents, what they see as a priority too) is to find sponsors for the seventeen kids who need a sponsor and don’t yet have one.

This was something which met several criteria:

• It would make a very real difference. If all the sponsorship money could be raised, that would be an extra £3,000 for the school – which operates on a yearly budget of (I think) £25,000. Plus, from speaking to the children ourselves, we realised just how much difference it could make to have a sponsor writing letters to them and being interested in their progress.
• It is something which we are best positioned to do. Most of the current sponsors are from our church. A lot of newer church members don’t know much about Divya Shanthi, and many won’t have heard about the sponsorship programme.
• It’s a concrete, small-ish goal. It’s something where progress will be obvious.

Almost any time you’re trying to take action, you can measure up your ideas against those three points. If you’re inspired to help with charity or voluntary work, it’s particularly crucial to figure out whether what you’re doing will really make a difference – and whether you’re in a good position to do it.

If you’re aiming for a more personal goal, like getting fitter, going for something small and measurable (”lose 20lbs”) is much better than a huge vague goal.

Start While You’re Still Inspired

I knew my inspiration wouldn’t last forever. So while we were in Bangaluru, Paul and I sat down and talked about sponsoring a child ourselves.

We knew we couldn’t afford a lot, but there were several kids who just needed school fees – £82 a year.

All of the kids had heart-rending stories, and all seemed in clear need, but we knew we couldn’t sponsor them all. We picked one little girl called Ramya, and told Vinay and Colleen that we’d like to sponsor her.

It’s a small action. But it’s one which it’d be easy to put off ever taking.

Next time you’re at a seminar, or reading a book, or having a deep conversation with a friend, and you’re feeling inspired, figure out one small action which you can take right away.

Perhaps it’s making a phone call, or donating some money, or signing up for a course, or any one of hundreds of things. What’s important is that you take those warm enthusiastic feelings and turn them into something concrete, which makes a real difference.

If you’d like to find out more about Divya Shanthi’s work, they have a website at DivyaShanthi.org and a Facebook page too. They’re a small charity with incredibly hard working and devoted staff, and they’re doing literally life-saving work – if you’re interested in making a donation, or sponsoring a child, you can get in touch with them at info@divyashanthi.org.