By Michael J. Zappa, MD, FACEP

Dreams and aspirations come in many forms: from the drive to be the best at something, to lead a victorious team, to be a great parent, or to be that selfless, ever-reliable friend and humanitarian. Many people can check the box of some of these achievements, yet they may remain unfulfilled - reaching their goal did not transform them.

This illustrates that success is not enough; all individuals - from the bodacious dreamers, to the meticulous planners, and even the let’s roll with it, one day-at-a- timers, truly seek lives of significance. One way of looking at success and significance is picturing them as points along the same upward trajectory. A cursory conclusion might be that simply getting more successes under one’s belt pushes one further toward significance; this is not necessarily so. The secret that will propel an individual from simple success to significance is inspiration. Inspiration must be received and well as given.

Stop and think about something or someone that inspired you today, this week, or recently. If it took you more than 3 seconds, you can do with a little more inspiration in your life! Inspiration is what drives us; without it you are just checking things off from a never-ending list; you may feel trapped and wonder why you are doing these things at all.

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