Inspiration is a funny word – I used to get it confused with motivation.
I was motivated by lots of things – my son, following my dreams, money, being liked by others, doing the right thing and lots of other things. Where do you get your inspiration from?
However it wasn’t until recently that I looked at what inspires me to do what I do, sometimes it is really hard to keep going. I wonder if we are making a difference and then there are is some history that keeps popping up. I also wonder what I am doing opening myself up to that situation again.
I was reminded why Yvonne and I do what we do
The reason I took a redundancy and work fulltime at helping ease the transition to aged care for others. It really is very simple and I know I’ve written about it many times however it is something that is very close to both of our hearts.
Marilyn our sister was the main carer for Dad after Mum passed and while we discussed everything and made decisions together Marilyn had the main caring role. She was the one that visited each week. Took Dad to appointments and managed all his financial things. We did what we could from long distance however Marilyn did it 99.9% of the caring.
When Marilyn unexpectedly passed in 2012 our world was thrown into chaos and it will never be the same again.
We were thrown into the deep end and we kept saying we wish somebody had told us this or that.
If only we had more than one power of attorney or knew Dad’s bank account details it wouldn’t have been so hard for everyone during the week Marilyn was on life support.
We want to ease the transition to aged care for all the family so they don’t have to go through the tough times that we did.
When we started talking about this to others there were many questions we were asked and we realised that there were many emotional issues that “the sandwich generation” need support with.
Marilyn inspires us each and every day to keep getting out there and help people. I love it when we get feedback from people and it is so heart-warming to hear how we are helping them.
Although Marilyn is the main inspiration I have been privileged to meet some amazing people on my journey –people that are out there helping others.
One that comes to mind is John Maher who is taking his story to the world.
His daughter Amy was involved in a fatal accident and John talks to students about being responsible behind the wheel. He truly is amazing and I know he has saved many lives.
Inspiration also comes to me when I read negative comments, or when I see people reacting to grief or stressful situations. You see I know what it is like and there are so many things I wish I had done things differently. Grief is the worst thing in the world and we all handle it differently. Respect and understanding are very important and as they hindsight is a wonderful thing. If only I knew….
No person is an Island. You don’t have to do this alone.
As the years have gone by my motivation has definitely changed and it’s not about material possession anymore it is about the life I am living.
What inspires and motivates you?
