Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Motivation.
What I Learned from 'Big Magic' by Elizabeth Gilbert
I recently finished Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and whew. Talk about a life-changer. I picked it up a while back from my college's Barnes and Noble after getting a gift card for Christmas from my grandparents. I tucked it away on my bookshelf and completely forgot about it until I was packing up everything to leave Texas for the summer. I came across it, was like "Oh yeah, I own this," and threw it in my suitcase with the rest of my belongings. Three weeks later, I'm finished with it and still brooding over its wisdom. For me, this book brought a whole new meaning to what creative living means and today, I'm here to share my favorite bits from it, which, by the way, were exceedingly difficult to choose. There's a lot of stuff in here, but I'll save some of it for you to discover on your own. So if you'd like to hear a bit of Liz Gilbert's wisdom on pushing past fear to live creatively, just keep reading.
By Hannah Bonner8 years ago in Motivation
A Peek Inside
I am on this mission to help those that don’t suffer from depression to get a glimpse inside as well as to remind those that do suffer from depression that they aren’t alone. My husband and quite a few of my friends and family have no context to my moods or behavior as they have never suffered from depression.
By Harlie Wood8 years ago in Motivation
"Keep Calm Richard"
While I was out and about recently, I bought a keyring from a gift shop marked with the words "Keep Calm Richard." Obviously, this is a very generic keyring. One of many to use an adaptation of the WWII slogan "Keep Calm and Carry On" with any numbers of names or titles underneath. Given that I have been at a low ebb recently and wrestling with my health, it seemed like something I should get myself as a poignant reminder to relax. The dark green background clinched it for me—being one of my favourite colours.
By Richard Brind8 years ago in Motivation
At the Top of the Stairs
At the Top of the Stairs It’s midnight. I should be in bed, but I’m not. I never am now. Thoughts are always consuming my mind during the night. No one is home. I sit at the top of the stairs surrounded by empty bedrooms—five, to be exact. One of them is mine, although I don’t spend much time in it. Darkness is all that is present. No lights are on. No one is laughing or arguing. Everything is silent. A house that once held seven people now only holds me for the night. My dad is out of town and no one else lives here. I sit at the top of the stairs. Memories flood my mind: my older sister moving out and going all the way to Athens, my oldest brother moving to Roswell, my little sister living with my mom in a different house, my other brother becoming a freshman in college and now leaving me just like the rest, my parents divorcing, my empty house, my bad grades, my poor decisions, my failures. I cry. I miss my family. I don’t like being alone. I hate failing.
By Brandi Jo8 years ago in Motivation
The Road
Growing up, I was always one to follow rules. I was taught that if I were to go against what an adult or "superior" told me, I was in the wrong. I morphed into this person that I thought others wanted to see. I have infinite love for my family, as I am so close to them. Which is why I thought what they said was true. I thought that by choosing my actions carefully based on another person's perception of me was critical to succeeding. While doing this I would also never open up and express my true thoughts and feelings. Just the idea of not conforming to what my parents, school, managers, boyfriends, or friends "expected" of me caused anxiety and panic. This person that I was never found healthy relationships of any kind because I was never truly me. I was afraid to show my true face for rejection from the world. I was afraid to tell others how I felt because I feared I would hurt them.
By Courtney Reilly8 years ago in Motivation
Raging Water
Today was a tough day... the reality of a broken relationship, questioning all my past and current choices, the hurt of misunderstanding, the feeling of shame, the weight of my family's future and the constant barrage of self sabotaging negative dialogue is raging a war inside my head. My heart aches, and my body hurts. My anxiety and depression are becoming difficult to manage...
By Josh Martin8 years ago in Motivation
Learning to Love You
Something I personally struggle with A LOT, this loving yourself thing has never been a strong point of mine growing up. Instead it was easier to blame myself for everything that went wrong, tell myself it is all I deserved or maybe it was some kind of punishment. I convinced myself that happiness and good luck just weren't meant to be part of my life and I was just going to have to accept that. I mean, why would someone like me be able to have those things? Why would anyone love someone like me? Accept someone like me? Love me for who I was? More importantly, I couldn't change it, could I?
By Toni-Marie Gallagher8 years ago in Motivation
Change-llenges
So you may be wondering why the hybrid between Change and Challenges? Change means that what once was will never be, and that all that snuggly comfort gets ripped from under your feet to a mysterious new territory. Change may even mean what once gave you purpose is no longer an option, or who.
By SAYHERNAME Morgan Sankofa8 years ago in Motivation
Be the You, You Want
We all have those moments where we feel like our lives' are off-course. We all have moments of social anxiety and feeling defeated. Sometimes these feelings come and go. Other times, they stick around; like pesky little flies buzzing around our thoughts; making it difficult for us to go to social gatherings (or even the grocery store), cause us to feel sluggish and fatigued, and keep us in an overall cloud of disappointment and 'funk'.
By Sierra I8 years ago in Motivation
Fortune Cookie
“The more you know, the less you need to say.” The intellectual experience is definitely one of the most awesome experiences of life thus far. The more we learn, the more we see with the metaphorical third eye, the intellect. I have come to a place currently where I can see things, the minute details and the multiple possibilities. It is an overwhelming experience. With the abnormally numerous acute and clear thoughts that occur in the mind every day, more channels of thought open up to the mind, more perspectives. The getting lost in thought has never been a more intense experience than what I am experiencing these days. At the end of one of these ‘intense thought sessions,’ I am left feeling as if I have just sprinted a marathon. It’s exhilarating. At the risk of sounding even more dramatic, it’s as if I can feel the contours of my psyche changing with these in-depth thoughts which have a powerful connection with the belief system that lives in the mind. It’s chaotic. In the midst of all this chaos, I have managed to hold on to only a few things in life which are genuinely, universally important.
By Diviesh B8 years ago in Motivation
