I have a beef with inspirational messages

I wrote an article on Medium last year that seems to be particularly relevant at the start of the New Year, at a time when everyone is invigorated and inspired to be a better person, to reboot and refresh (myself included, read my post on why 2020 is going to be great for me!). Have a read through part of this inspirational message article here and then hit me up on Medium to read the rest. (Hint: it’s not as misanthropic as you might suspect from this snippet alone.)

 

 

I have a beef with inspirational messages.

Let me be clear: This is not about all inspirational messages. Just the pressure we put on ourselves because of them.

The pressure is on to self-actualize and I’m pretty sure that’s not what Maslow intended.

Everyone says to “Live Your Best Life.” Live with purpose. Empower yourself, etc. You get the gist. Our social media streams are flooded with well-meaning pithy quotes and gifs of sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows.
It’s a constant barrage of cats clinging to tree limbs.

 

Hang in there! You can do this!

And I’m sure that every single person who shares a message such as these truly has the sincerest intentions and humanity’s best interests in mind. I don’t doubt that for a second and I really do appreciate how much kinder and supportive we as a society are trying to be.

But here’s the rub. Are we doing it the right way?

To read the rest of my article, please go to Medium.