Twenty seven! That’s the number of inspirational quotes that appear on ornaments, pictures, fridge magnets, pillows, coasters and signs dotted around my house. Not at all excessive (hmmmm?!)

My love of all things inspirational began when I was a young girl and my mum bought me a beautiful book full of quotes and poems. Before long I knew them all by heart, but little did I know at twelve years old just how much that little book would help shape my life.

These days I draw my inspiration from lots of different places depending on what mood I’m in, or what I hope to achieve. It might be one of those 27 quotes, where the words play on repeat in my head, reminding me to ‘trust the journey!’ when all I really want is a crystal ball to tell me how it all works out in the end. It might be Christina Aguilera belting out ‘Fighter’, helping get me through another gruelling and very boring treadmill run; or it could be the ultimate mix of 80’s love ballads or a country collection to keep me awake on a long, late night drive home from competition.

And when I find myself complaining that I don’t feel like going to the gym or that I’m too tired to run, I draw inspiration from friends who I know would love to be able to do either, but due to injury or illness cannot. And instead of feeling beaten before I begin, I suddenly find myself grateful that I can.

More often than not however, it will be ‘Pink’ who, without exception, has the capacity to change my whole mood around with a single lyric. Who knew?!

I find joy in small things, such as snow falling on a winters day, the sun shining through my skylight, the familiar ding of a message arriving from someone special, or my sons hand in mine as he falls asleep, all which can be guaranteed to make my heart truly smile. As small or insignificant as all of these things may seem, or be to someone else, they matter to me and I am grateful for each of them for the role they play in inspiring me to be a better person.

As much as I love to be inspired, I get great enjoyment out of being able to inspire others; to help people believe in themselves and support them in pursuit of their dreams by giving them the confidence to at least try. I especially enjoy inspiring children. I started coaching at a young age and while I still love to teach, these days my ‘why’ has become much more than helping a child achieve a gymnastics skill. To watch a child thrive, grow, take a chance or ‘have a go’ under my guidance is something which feels nothing short of amazing and fills me with pride every time.

People often tell me that I inspire them with the things I do, and while I’m touched by their words, I’m never quite sure how to respond. But then I think about the people who inspire me and I wonder what they might say if I told them the same thing. I hope they would feel pleased, knowing that they have made a difference in my life, even if only in a small way.

In the end I suppose, we are all just doing our own thing to get by in this life, each of us on our own journey. And we do that in a way that makes sense to us and which helps us achieve our own set of goals and dreams. No doubt it will be different to the next person, and at times each of us will inspire someone else by the things we are doing, and maybe the best thing we can do is simply say thank you, smile and just keep on doing it.

So on the days where we may feel defeated, or where any and all inspiration seems to have evaded us, regardless of the number of quotes we surround ourselves with or how many times we play our favourite song, we should always remember to smile; because while we may not feel at our very best, we might still be someone else’s inspiration, and our smile might just be the thing that brightens their day. 💕