Ah, motivational quotes. You either have them carved on a decorative stone somewhere in your house or stitched on your pillow. If you don't, then you'll have the supremely annoying poster that your parents gave you during a time of crisis. For me, those motivational posters don't come in a tangible form, but they are etched on my teenage brain with a permanent Sharpie. I guess the years of parental motivation has taken its toll on me, because I have grown to resent those quotes. Why? Because they're pseudo-encouragements made by one person's perspective on life.
Let's get to it:
We all have different circumstances in life. You can have health problems, financial difficulty or family issues. Either way, you can't expect one motivational quote to transcend every barrier in your life, let alone other people's. So if a motivational poster say the ever-so-charming Abraham Lincoln quote, "you can have anything you want if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose," I don't think that's true for most people. Because after my spine surgery, I found out that I cannot skydive, which was on my bucket list. What about my maids, who can't afford an education past middle school or get a job somewhere decent so now they're forced to work as someone's servant?
My 17 year-old maid wants to be a doctor, but in her words, "you need money to be anything." This isn't just a case of being financially unstable and needing a student loan. No. This is a third world country where the government doesn't help you out if you're living under the poverty line. You're homeless? Your fault.
This isn't The Pursuit of Happyness. We can't all be Chris Gardner, who has an exceptionally brilliant mind but was unfortunately poor, oh and heyo he can trounce 20 other highly educated gentlemen in a stock brokerage internship!
So, no, Abe Lincoln. With the amount of people I have met with physical, intellectual, emotional or financial restrictions to not be able to 'do what they want to do', I will have to disagree with your quote. Not saying that the 16th president of the United States was wrong, but inspirational quotes like that just don't cut it for me, or for many people.
Don't even get me started on, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Tell that to my grandfather who had a stroke and spent the rest of his life bedridden and only being able to say a few words. Or to my great grandmother whose stroke paralyzed the left side of her body. Sure if you mean a break-up or a bad test makes you emotionally stronger, but I'm pretty sure the guy with the pacemaker can argue with you about that quote.
Don't be fooled by the motivational fitness quotes either. We all have a different body type. For girls, sometimes you're top heavy or bottom heavy. My sister cannot change her genetically short and stubby legs, and I can't change my lanky frame. I have friends who are just big boned since childhood because their parents are big boned, and no matter how much you work or diet, your large ribs and wide hips can't get any thinner. You can be fit and thinner than previously, but don't let the before and after pictures of girls fool you. Sometimes you just aren't meant for a Victoria's Secret angel's body.
I presume I'm popping the bubble you have about inspirational quotes. Maybe you're starting to resent that poster you have on your wall; eyeing it like it was the Al-Qaeda. Look, if you're a relatively healthy person (both emotionally and physically), if you are kind of financially stable, and you're pretty intelligent, then by all means, go ahead and follow these inspirational quotes. But if you have any health restrictions, you can cross out being an astronaut.
Now, if you're starting to resent me and you're about to pull out your arsenal of quotes, including Steven Covey's, "I am not a product of my circumstance, I am a product of my decisions" then go ahead. You can still be motivated by these words, but I sure as hell am not. Regarding Covey's quote, I think your circumstance affects your decisions. There are exemptions, of course, but what's the success of one villager against the impoverished millions?
I mean, if you're in a village in Indonesia, I don't think the parents give two shits about your dreams. As long as you have a job that pays for food, that's it, you're set for life. Just like how my 17 year-old uneducated maid wants to be a doctor, but ended up at an institution for maids where housewives pick them like food off a menu. Your decisions affect your life, but your circumstance affects your decisions. And sometimes, your circumstance becomes a prison for your misery.
I'm not completely devoid of quotes, though. As you know, I collect poems and quotes that I try to live by. But most motivational quotes are just complete bullshit that I refuse to put it in my list. Maybe its just my extremely naive and pessimistic attitude towards life that has made me into the Grinch, so I apologize if you leave this article with despondence. But I'm going to leave you with the anti-inspirational quote of, "follow your dreams, but remember than nightmares are dreams, too."
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