Sunday, March 31, 2013

Life...."What inspires you?"

A couple days ago at work I was asked the question "What inspires you?". My answer was simple "Not one person inspires me. I am inspired by peoples actions."

This has had me thinking all weekend about what has "inspired" me this week. I think it is so easy to get caught up in everyday that we forget to STOP what we are doing and find at least one thing that is positive or inspiring for that day. I challenge you this week to find your "inspiration".

Here are mine from last week....

- My husband. I have NEVER met someone who will ALWAYS put others before themselves as much as my husband does. Call me biased but its true. He is always the guy to stop when someone needs help ( as long as he feels its safe). Every night we talk about what went on throughout our days. He is SO aware of how he comes across to others. He tries to treat everyone fairly regardless of the situation. Even though I don't always agree with how he handles situations (I'm a VERY bold personality), I am always inspired to be a better person because of his actions.

- I currently work in a women's retail store and I had the pleasure of helping an elderly couple this week. As some of you know I have a weakness for elderly. LOVE THEM! In the beginning I had a hard time. The women wouldn't decide if she liked something or not until her husband did. At first I was super livid. I'm the type where I don't care if my husband "approves" or not. If I want it and I like it then I'm getting it regardless. After helping and getting to know this couple for over an hour I found out that the women refused to go shopping. Her husband ALWAYS had to bring home new clothes for her because she never wanted to spend the money on herself. She ended up finding about 5 complete outfits. She told me to take them to the front and that her husband would decide which ones they were going to buy. As I was up at the cash register the husband told me that he had a lot of room on his credit card and they were going home with EVERYTHING that she liked. Their total was over $400 which I knew from talking with them that they couldn't afford that much today. He was so cute....knowing that they were going to have to budget to pay off the card he still wanted to spoil his wife. I am still thinking about them almost 4 days later. I am inspired.

- If you keep up with the blog at all you know that I am a newly converted hockey fan. My husband and I attended the last 3 games of the season this past week. We always have so much fun. For those of you who know me personally know that I have taken a liking to EVAN STOFLET. Its been fun being a "super fan"...tagging him in photos and being the equivalent of a "Bieber fever fan" (hopefully not quite as extreme). I don't know Evan personally...not one bit. But I have to say that by observing him play he has INSPIRED ME. After attending 9 games this season I have noticed that Evan is the "cheerleader". Always cheering up his teammates. During period breaks Evan always goes out and meets the goalie and they go to the locker room together. The 
Grizzlies are always getting new players and it seems that Evan makes an effort to make them feel apart of the team. He is always one of the last ones off the ice. For professional sports I think this is amazing. I can tell that he is a great team leader and leads by example. It reminded and inspired me to be more of the "cheerleader" and create more team unity in my professional life. 

I consider my husband and I to be very fortunate. I think we do well financially and lead a pretty great life style. We try to "pay if forward" when we can. Our favorite thing is to buy a family their dinner. It doesn't happen often but we love doing it. 

So I ask you now..."WHAT INSPIRES YOU?" OR WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO INSPIRE OTHERS?

3 comments:

Shirley said...

I have the privilge of interacting with women on a daily basis and I have come to realize that the vast majority of us have become skilled at beating ourselves up. I am on a mission to STOP THE MADNESS. If I can impact just one woman every day to believe that she is PERFECT just the way she is. She is ENOUGH just the way she is. No more I'm not pretty enough, not thin enough, not tall enough etc...We have a responsibility to ensure that the young women of the next generation DO NOT carry on this madness!!!!

Melissa Hoffmeyer said...

Shirley! Yes, Exactly! Thanks for you comment!

Unknown said...

Wow Melissa,you made me think who has inspired me this week. well of course there's my family and my friends they always inspire me.
but I think every day there has been some one that has inspired me from the man in the grocery store standing in line telling a funny joke and making me laugh or from my coworkers who inspire me everyday . so I think this week I'm going to let people know who inspires me....