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About motivational/inspirational quotes: why are we so into them?
1st May 2019 - Aina Matamoros
Scrolling down your Instagram feed or going through the stories of people you follow I bet you see 1 motivational quote post for every 5 posts you pass, am I right? People tend to rely on these quotes to motivate themselves, to share something they are afraid of saying but really want/need to say or to just put out there words that they like. However, we all know why we do it: because it is trendy, it feels cool and everyone does it. So here is where I wonder: why is that? Why are we all so obsessed with them? So into them?
I will talk about one kind at a time. First, the queens of the night: the motivational quotes.
We all go through hard times for different reasons, from the simplest to the hardest, like from losing your favorite nail polish to losing someone you love, from having a bad hair day to having the worst day at work, or from breaking your roommate’s dish to breaking up with your s.o. In these situations, we all feel sad, down, stupid, terrible, depressed and that we all just want to go to sleep and never wake up again because we really think we are human trash that nobody wants or needs or loves. But that is not real.
In these moments we all need someone to be with, someone that tells us that we are good, that we are worth it and that everything is going to be OK at the end (or, at least, normal people need these things). The problem is that sometimes we do not have these people either because we are alone in that moment or because we do not want to tell anybody what happened and how it made us feel. Then is when the inspirational/motivational quotes come in, either to cheer us up or to bringing us even more down (because, let’s admit it, we all like to swim into our sadness and recreate ourselves with sorrow and pain, crying in bed like a Disney princess, which is known to be a REAL DRAMA QUEEN). Even though we all enjoy a little drama every now and then, we have to know when to stop and when to pick up all of our pieces and move on with our lives again. And if these motivational quotes help, be welcomed.
The problem, for me, appears when you only rely on these quotes and start sharing them all around your social media profiles and believing that this is going to make everything better because people will ask you or people will know how you feel. But this is not reality. People in your Instagram will not really care about how you feel and what is why you are feeling this way. Real people talking and being there hugging you, by your side, maybe saying nothing, that is the real motivation to keep going and feel that everything is going to be just fine. Make this quote pic your phone background or print them and hang up some in your room or write it down in your journal, but keep it for yourself and as a secret little group of words that are a compliment to know that you are strong and you are going to make it (see, I just put a quote here). Because, let’s be honest, some of them are like… too cheesy, too unrealistic, too wtf are you saying? Like “life begins at the end of your comfort zone” or “don’t lose yourself” – what do they even mean? And then the others that contradict each other like the ones saying if you love someone or something or if you cannot stop thinking about it just go for it and the other telling you that you do not have to go after someone or something that does not prove they really want you in their lives. Nobody knows what other people are thinking or going through and the reasons they do or do not do things in life. So I guess my advice is to just do what you feel at the moment and surround yourself with family and good friends that will be there for you. THEY ARE THE REAL MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES.
And then we have the other kind of quotes, the ones that talk about life situations and feelings, which are related to LOVE 99% of the time. These are the ones that people use on social media (I’d say only on social media/Instagram) to share some thoughts because “they like the quote/phrase”, which really means that they are posting it thinking about THAT ONE PERSON THEY LIKE OR LOVE, being their crush, boy/girlfriend, ex or tinder hookup. They are always a hint put out there directly to someone. And 99% of the time that someone either does not get it is for them, get it but really do not care or do not want it to be for them, or do not even see it. So the thing is, if you want to tell someone something, just do it, by word, in real life, that is the emotion of living. Posting a picture with some words saying something like “I miss what we did that day” or “We should be together” or “You are always in my dreams” does not help you get that person, not the right one, because those words are fake, are lost among all the other insta stories and just gone. Live life without texting through a screen and start being present.
Finally, I just want to add a special mention to the ones related to social media or phone issues, I just find them funny.
And this one, which is my personal favorite quote:
