Motivational quotes are everywhere. Nearly every other post on any of the social media platforms is some form of a motivational quote, inspirational talk, or life coach rant. How is it that this type of content has become so popular? Why do millions of people what to consume such high dosages of “motivation”?
I think that part of this motivational epidemic can be attributed to innumerable factors. However, for the sake of my sanity and the brevity of this piece, I will limit myself to describing three of the most common reasons why people love motivational content.
From my understanding I think that people fall in love with and consume motivational content because it is easy to understand, it feels good, and its low cost or in other words they don’t have to sacrifice anything for it. I will describe my thoughts supporting each of these reasons in the sections below.
Easy To Understand
A motivational quote is pretty straight forward. It doesn’t require any contemplation to grasp its meaning. In fact, they’re written in such a way that they cannot stand up to any reflection. The moment you look at them any more in-depth the entire phrase dissolves. This lack of depth though it makes the quote easy to understand robs it of its truth. True things are rarely simple and seldom shallow.
Of course, I am not saying that if the quotes became more sophisticated, they would become truer. What I am saying is that reality is complicated, and if you are to describe reality in a way that is true in every application, then your explanation or articulation must also be complicated.
That is really the heart of it. The quotes are far to simple to describe any real phenomenon the occurs within our reality. Especially in the area that they are trying to explain, such as love, happiness, and success. It’s highly unlikely that fifteen words plastered across some stock image, could or would ever be able to accurately sum up or instruct in any one of these complex areas of existence.
The fact that they are easy to understand makes them accessible and shareable, but it also is the very thing that works against their validity. Unfortunately, this is precisely what motivational quotes and inspirational talks thrive off of. In some cases, the more shallow and vague, the more shares, likes, and comments it will get.
We do not care for truth; we prefer to stick to our vague and straightforward lies. So long as we can understand them and repeat them, we will take them as gospel truth. They become the truths that spur us on in circles “hustling” until we “make it,” little do we know our circular rut is really more of a spiral. It is a spiral that is leading us down, further and further into the darkness of our own selfish desires.
The next time you read some text over an image, first ask yourself “do I understand it?”, Then ask the even more critical question, “is it true?”
Self Affirming And Pleasurable
Believe in yourself! Do what makes you happy! Those phrases are comforting to hear, and they may even put a tingle in your chest if you hear it at the right time. You might be stuck between going out with your friends or staying home with your sick child. Maybe you’re trying to decide on what job to take or whether or not you should buy the sports car of your dreams. Then you happen to hop on Facebook and there, right in your news feed, the sign you’ve been looking for. Burning in neon letters, plastered over a stock photo of a lion. You read those holy and self-gratifying words, Believe in yourself, Do what makes you happy. Your heart explodes, and you run out of your house, leaving your family behind yelling about how you are going to treat your self to a 2019 Corvette.
My story may be overdramatized, but it hits at the heart of the issue.
This type of motivational content produces this exact feeling in the hearts of so many. It validates their longing to fulfill whatever selfish desire they have. The woman caught in this dilemma grasp the first thing she sees that supports her passion and runs with it. To be fair, it is not her entirely her fault that she gives in. She has been conditioned. Her greed has been inflamed to a point where it is undeniable. It only needs the slightest provocation to be actualized.
This is the job of the motivator. To give you the push you don’t need. To help you actualize your selfish desires and achieve your “goals.” In other words, it is the motivators job to make gain out of the insecurities you have regarding your job, car, lifestyle, bank account, house, and any other thing that is a result of your “hustle.”
This is a key reason why all of the marketing gurus recommend that companies use motivational content in all of their sales campaigns. A motivated man has very little sales resistance. Primarily if they are motivated to do something that requires your product. If your man is motivated and your product caries the preception of fixing something he is insecure about. Then you have scored a sale and pushed a man to do something that he most likely never needed to do.
Motivational content spikes you into a world of passion and desire. Both of which, if actualized, will make you feel good. The catch is that the sensation will only last a little while. Then you will plummet. You will need another high, another video, another quote, to jumpstart your engine. To propel yourself forward into a hasty decision, hurtful choice, and greedy desires.
The next time you read that quote or listen to that speaker, and they’re telling you to chase your dreams at any cost. Hustle till you drop. Work to afford the life you want. Believe in yourself. Only you can do it, you have to go out an take it.
Stop for a moment and quietly think to yourself.
Will my life really be better if I got that job, car, house, business deal, extra zeros in the bank account, title, or new pair of shoes. Will any of those things validate my life. Are any of those things worth living for? Are they worth dying for? Are they worth losing your family, friends, and loved ones? What would be worth losing all of those things for?
Just because you think it will feel good does not mean it is worth the pursuit.
Consumption Without Sacrifice
It only takes a couple of clicks, a few seconds of scrolling, and maybe a few taps on the screen to consume mountains of motivational content. It takes no time to find and even less time to read.
There is no sacrifice involved with its consumption. You don’t have to pay for it, spend time looking for it or better yourself because of it. It is not like reading a great book that challenges you not only in your comprehension but in your entirety. You may read a book like “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas A. Kemps, and as a result, you might end up being provoked to change everything about how you live. In that sense, you would have been sacrificing your former self and lifestyle on the altar in the hopes of becoming a new creation. As a result of reading a profound book.
Unlike the vague idealistic content found on motivational pages of the internet, great books require something from us. We cannot read them without risking ourselves in the process. While reading 600 quotes and a book like the “Secret” ultimately asks nothing of you. It affirms all that you are, including all of your evil tendencies and in some cases, it amplifies them.
This is why motivational content is so popular it can be consumed safely at any age without any risk of choking. It is soft food more like a liquid, easy to digest, and easy to spit up. By its simplicity and the nature of what it promotes, it will not cost you anything, and because it is free, free in the sense that it asks nothing from you. It will not positively change you. Positive change requires something from you, it requires sacrifice. It can corrupt you, but it cannot sanctify you.
Do not misunderstand me. I have been saying motivational content is safe to eat, by that I mean that it goes down smooth. Not that it won’t harm you. Poisons go down easy but can produce quite powerful effects. A poison is virtually undetectable, and its effects can occur immediately or overtime, depending on the dosage. That is precisely how this content behaves.
Drink from its cup every once in a while, and it may only upset your stomach. Drink from it daily, and it may kill you.
Stop going to the motivational fountain for cheap drinks. They may be free and self-affirming, but the reservoir is poisoned. It will hurt you, the only difference is one of degree.
Conclusion
If you are reading a book, a quote, or listening to a speaker, do not make the assumption that they are speaking the truth simply because you can understand them. Likewise, the truth does not depend on the way the words make you feel or the amount of sacrifice it does or doesn’t require from you. The truth depends on so much more than any of those things.
The truth Is True
Whether you think or not
Whether you like it or not
Whether you agree with it or not
Whether you understand it or not
It is an iron fist will crush you so long as you are not moving with it. You cannot hide from it suppress it or destroy it. The truth will always arise by any means necessary. Whether that takes a million years or twelve hours. The truth will have its way.
Every day you open up your phone or log in to your computer, you will be required to make judgment calls on the validity of everything you see. There are many lies out there. I have only attempted to outline the lies found within the motivational movement, of which there are many, and I have only scratched the surface. So, whenever you are online, in the library, at the mall, listening to the radio, or watching a show. Try always to be vigilant, wise, careful, and doubtful.
The truth may always win, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be casualties before it does.
Pick Up A Poster Today!
