I am not inspiring

I have been often told that I am "inspiring". As a communicator, leader, coach - I am able to paint pictures and tell stories with an infectious passion which leaves people "spellbound - sometimes with goosebumps" (quotes from a participant in a workshop).

However, the truth is - I am not inspiring.

I am inspired.

Being inspired is my favorite emotional state. The whirlpool of positive emotions I feel inside me when I follow a chain of positive thoughts is heady and powerful for me too. When I meet others and talk to them - I am not inspiring them - just myself. And they naturally seem to bathe in the experience of my emotions.

When I look at facts, situations and people - I do not look at "what is" but what is possible - what can be. When I meet people - I do not see the limitations they place on themselves. I see them for who they can be. And I share it with the passion that I feel within me. I inspire people because they inspire me.

A scary thought is - the same would be true for toxic emotions too, isn't it? If one has a whirlpool of pessimism spinning wildly inside - what impact would it have on those around us?

Isn't communication merely transference of emotions?