Inspiration overload

Can there be such a thing as too much inspiration? Seeing someone doing something incredible can be inspiring. Climbing mountains, surfing huge waves, coming up with breakthroughs in physics or finding new cures for diseases. Inspiration is abundant on the web.

That said, I'm starting to suspect that this is a double-edged sword. It's probably way too easy to get inspired and to stumble upon unique people doing superb things.

If we go back maybe 30 or 40 years, most of the interactions were occurring among similar human beings. People would mostly go about their lives doing "normal things". And among them, there were special folks that were probably doing something amazing but the majority was not exposed to them on a daily basis.

If you wanted to get inspired you had to actively seek that inspiration. You had to buy a book or attend an event or a talk. Or even watch the occasional documentary.

But today, inspiration is everywhere. People are sharing their achievements daily all over the web. Stories, tweets, vlogs, articles, podcasts. You name it. They're everywhere.

And they're always in front of your face. And I think—and maybe it's just me—this is starting to have the opposite effect. Some will get inspired, sure. But I think the majority is subconsciously getting depressed as a result of this. Because it's a daily reminder that you could be doing something amazing with your life but you probably aren't.

And if you're reading this, and like me, you're just an average person going through your life, with all the ups and downs, joys and struggles, that's great. Keep it up.