Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Motivation.
5 Ways to Stop Overthinking (Part 1)
Lying in bed and overanalyzing your voice tone during an elevator pitch, or sitting at work and going through an argument with a complete stranger that happened last week. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? You’re building ideas about people and yourself out of thin air, with little to no evidence to support your notions. I would be completely lying if I’d say that I am absolutely not guilty of such self-destruction. Why did I just refer to overthinking as a form of self-destruction you might ask. Since it doesn’t really do anything harmful? Since it doesn’t necessarily affect me on a daily basis? The truth is—it does. Your thoughts are preoccupied with moments that are long gone, and you will never get a chance to relive them all over again, unless you are in one of those time-travelling movies, where you are stuck in the same day, and you have to figure out how to fix some aspect of it in order to move on to the next one.
By Anastasiia Shved8 years ago in Motivation
Good Enough
Have you ever felt like you've been rejected or treated unfairly by friends, (-ex) boyfriend/girlfriends, family, co-workers etc? Yeah, well you're not alone. Let me tell you a story about myself. I worked as a lab assistant for a year. I thought I had gotten a good job because it was my very first real full-time job, I felt blessed. As I was working there for a couple of months, I started to notice that I was being treated differently. The technicians felt better than the lab assistants and treated us like we were slaves. They were rude as they demanded tasks from us. I started to get fed up with how my White co-workers were snobby towards me specifically. I would tell my supervisor about it and she always gave the excuse of them having a bad day. A bad day? I have lots of bad days and I smiled and treated everyone equally with respect. My supervisor loved playing favorites and gave them all the possible excuses in the world. My supervisor never said good morning to me in the mornings, but would say good morning to others. She would walk right past me and not even acknowledge my presence. Sometimes she would even avoid giving me any sort of contact. Every time she would say something to me was when she was complaining about what I did or if I made a simple mistake. So when she would talk to me, I got anxiety because I was afraid of doing something wrong. She wasn’t encouraging or supportive and I dreaded talking to her. Later on, I noticed that a White male co-worker did his rounds of greeting everyone… except me! I thought maybe it’s because he thinks I’m busy. Nope! I would talk to another co-worker and he would rudely interrupt me in mid-sentence just to say hello and ask how they are doing, right in front of me like I wasn’t there. I wanted to say something to him every single time, but I couldn’t—I was too scared because he could turn it around to make it seem like I have the problem. Then I would get the blame or be seen as the aggressor and I could lose my job. I didn’t want to chance it, so I just let it happen and faked being happy at this company. I would smile, treat everyone nicely, and was friendly as I could possibly be. I held my anger, frustration, depression, and sadness all inside me and I felt like I was going to explode. I was miserable working at this place and the people there didn't make it any better for me. On top of that, I was living with my ex-boyfriend (who I was still in love with at the time) with whom I have a child with and he treated me like crap! When I would arrive to his house after work, I would cry before I got out of my car. I was emotionally and physically drained from work, from my peers, my ex, and top of that being a mother to my two-year-old. My ex would belittle me all the time to where I felt like everything I did was wrong. He would constantly make me feel like I wasn’t normal. And I supported him and was constantly doing things for him that he was lazy to do for himself. I will go into more detail about my toxic relationship in another post someday, but all I'll say is there are so many people who feel like they don't belong. Never treat someone bad because you don't know what their life is like personally. Showing someone a little kindness could make someone happy; just by saying "Hello" or "Good morning," just to let them know they are recognized. Smiling as you walk past someone could make someone's day. I value doing acts of kindness while I go out because when I was suffering from work and my ex, the people who were nice to me helped me forget that people disliked me for odd reasons.
By Ameenah M.8 years ago in Motivation
Stuck
The morning starts and I look at my calendar; nothing. Always nothing. No alarms, no anything. I have no money, nothing to do. I fill the day with watching TV/playing video games as per usual, surprised that debt collectors haven't busted down the door to repossess anything, but this time nothing; I feel no joy from it, just passing the time. Have you ever had that feeling, just utter and pure absence of emotion? We're all on this floating rock and without paper, we have no freedom; we're all just stuck.
By Elijah Taylor8 years ago in Motivation
Hello, World... Remember Me?
In life, we are given many challenges, many obstacles to overcome and surpass. Some give us joy while others give us great success. I believe, like most people, that one of the biggest challenges can be how to deal with the pain and aftermath of a broken heart.
By Lori Brizius8 years ago in Motivation
Platforms
I remember when I was young and innocent, standing at the edge of a cliff, looking over at the unending path of platforms, wondering what would lie on the final platform. I remember taking the first leap, unsure that I would even make it. But I did. Landing on the first platform gave me a feeling of exhilaration, the adrenaline coursing through my blood. I didn't pause as I jumped onto the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that. I only paused when the sun began to set and I could no longer see the platforms in front of me. I curled up on the platform I was on and fell asleep. When I woke up, the cycle began again. Jumping from platform to platform, the feeling of excitement going through me. But every time I made the jump, the excitement dulled. As I grew, so too did my disappointment. The leaps became jumps, the jumps became hops, and the hops became steps. Soon, I could easily walk from one to another, and it was no longer fun. As a teenager, I became all too self-aware of the height. Thoughts flooded into my mind. What if I never made the next jump? It became harder and harder to do so. Sometimes I would leap for hours on end, and some days I could barely manage one. And then one day, at the age of 18, I finally did something new. I looked down. From beneath me, there was another set of platforms, exactly the same as this one. In the distance I saw a man, much older then me, jumping across the platforms with ease, a smile on his face as he skipped across in a childlike wonder, almost as if the excitement of jumping had never worn away. I picked up a stone from my platform and threw it down, where it landed directly in front of the man. He paused in his jumps and looked up. He saw me, leaning cautiously over the edge, my hair dangling over the sides and he waved up at me happily. I wanted to yell down to him, ask him how he was so full of life, but I knew no sound would reach him. He jumped to the platform in front of him, and beckoned me to follow. I did so, leaping across to the next one. He smiled and kept going, and I kept following in his footsteps. Eventually, it became something of a race, the two of us jumping from platform to platform. One day, I managed to get ahead of him. I looked back to smile, when all of a sudden I felt the world fall. I closed my eyes, until I felt myself hit the ground. I heard a sound from behind me, footsteps on rocks, and then I saw him, the man I had been racing. He offered me his hand, and helped me stand. The two of us, on one platform. He smiled at me, offering me his hand, and I took it. I cannot remember how many years we hopped side by side, years full of laughter and happiness. Years of me finding my motivation, and concerning my fears, while he cheered me on proudly. One day we came across a cliff— one that looked exactly like my childhood. The platforms went on, swerving left and continuing forward, but there was finally land, finally the other side. The leap was long, and I could sea the ocean below me, crashing loudly against the rocks. My friend went first, jumping across the platform and onto the cliff. He turned and looked at me, and for the first time, I saw sadness in his eyes. I understood why. I looked down—at the ocean before me, and decided it was too much. I couldn't make the jump. Not yet. He smiled at me as I turned away, and leaped onto the next platform. When I looked back, the cliff was gone. I had grown with my friend, jumping by his side as I matured, facing the troubles together. The platform away looked more daunting than it ever had, yet still, I leaped. Within my heart I could feel it. The joy, the excitement, the adrenaline. I carried on, not stopping for a second. Jumping and leaping and skipping across the platforms. And then one day, I was stopped in my path. A rock was dropped right in front of me. Curiously, I looked up, and saw a boy looking at me. There was tiredness in his eyes, one I recognized from long ago. I smiled at him, jumping over to the platform in front of me, and gestured for him to follow. I saw him take a hesitant step, and leap.
By Abigail Long8 years ago in Motivation
Escape Your Thoughts
Ladies and gentlemen let me start this piece by giving thanks. Thank whatever you believe in, if you believe in nothing, then thank nothing for we have everything. Giving thanks for we have everything, yet we tend to appreciate nothing. In my latest trip I went from one of the wealthiest countries in the world to one of the poorest and despite seeing people in such poor conditions, I’m ashamed to say I’m not content. The world is a funny place where most of us serve others only when we believe to be serving ourselves. The grass always seems to be greener somewhere else.
By Milad Hussin8 years ago in Motivation
5 Things I Learned Before 20
We all know the big 2 0 is an accomplishment in itself. Or so it seems… 20 is when you are supposed to have all of your 'ish' together. You are supposed to know and already be doing something with your life; whether it be finishing up college, getting into a serious relationship, or starting an exciting new career. I want to say to all of the 20-somethings and the just now adults:
By Rebekah Battle8 years ago in Motivation
Leadership: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way
Welcome to an exploration of Leadership. At the core of the matter, the ability to lead, inspire, and achieve is a collection of the most valuable skills a person can attain. These tools will help you in the workplace, relationships and group/personal goals.
By Ando Anderson8 years ago in Motivation
