My top 14 inspirations - Himansh Kohli

Music: There are a lot of things, which inspire me and one of those is music. Good songs inspire me to do well. They churn out creativity and talent in me. When I listen to a song I love, I realise that it brightens my day, making me more positive and optimistic.

Parents: My parents are one of my biggest inspirations. Their love, support and hard work are why I am here. Not only have they given me shelter and nurtured me, but have made me who I am. I’m lucky to have them and they definitely do inspire me.

Friends: No matter what, where I have been in my life, I have had great friends around me every time. They have helped me through my tough times and celebrated with me in my good times as well. They have always been very kind to me. Their attitude and words inspire me to continue to do good work. I am happy they are proud of me.

Sports: I am inspired by sports a lot. I’m not talking about an individual sport. It can be cricket, football or kabaddi in India, but any kind of sports activity inspires me because I think it requires a lot of hard work. You have to be the best to compete and need to practise to become even better. I think that is one thing that requires a lot of determination.

Dreams: I am talking about the kind of dreams that people work towards in their lives. Some people like to travel, someone’s dream is to buy their own house or to achieve some major things. Different people have different dreams with different struggles. So, seeing all the people around me going after their dreams is inspiring.

Happiness: Another thing that really inspires me is happiness. When you look at someone’s face when they’re smiling, their eyes are bright. Their jovial nature and body language, it is very inspiring. Altogether, their attitude of living their life with full-on happiness is what inspires me and it’s infectious.

Internet: The internet is full of possibilities, information and the amazing things around us, so it inspires me a lot. There are so many videos on the internet where I see people dancing, singing and acting. They are growing, evolving and sharing their stories. They share their travelogues, blogs, vlogs, everything. It definitely inspires me because whenever I open the internet, there’s something that pops up on my screen, which sometimes is dazzling.

Love: Love is an amazing thing. It’s supportive and magical. It’s such an amazing feeling and it’s not just bound by one relationship. I mean the love I get from my family, friends, acquaintances and the people I work with professionally is all so precious and inspiring to me.

Movies: Whenever you sit around with your friends and watch films, there’s laughter and happiness. There are a lot of things in movies from which you can learn something. So altogether, if you look at it, whenever you are watching a film, you can seek inspiration from every scene. There are a lot of inspiring characters and stories on how they have put their life forward.

Teachers: My teachers have always been very inspiring for me. I don’t even know how life would have been if I had no teachers to learn from. I was quite the troublemaker and used to trouble all my teachers. I am pretty sure kids have been like that forever. However, teachers are so good, and they always dedicate their lives to helping us learn something in life.

Beauty: I am not just talking about beautiful people, but all the beautiful things in life. I’m talking about the little things that are beautiful such as the sunset, sunrise, animals, flowers, valleys, sea and waves. Sitting on the beach, I try to click as many pictures and somehow relate with the calmness and depth, and that inspires me a lot.

Space: I think infinity is the right word for space, and every night, I open something on the internet, be it YouTube or any anywhere, where I can find any such suitable information about space. There’s so much to learn about space. It is full of so many things which we are not even aware of, such as satellites, planets, energies, cosmos, everything. When I look at all there is to see in space, it opens up my mind.

Selfless people: Another thing I would say which inspires me are selfless people. They are those people who serve as policemen, fire fighters and doctors. They put their lives on the line to protect us. The amount of dedication they have for their line of work is so inspiring.

Faith and forgiveness: I think the last thing I would say is faith and forgiveness. I can say faith inspires me to another level. Faith is not about any religion, for me, but the ability to hold on when times are tough. I have seen a lot of people going through the toughest of times, but still having faith that everything will be okay.

Himansh Kohli is an acclaimed Indian actor.

Visit Twitter: @himanshkohli & Instagram: @KohliHimansh