Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Motivation.
The Blindness of Self-Doubt
Student It’s around about that murky time after University. The bars are still open and the jaeger is still cheap but the atmosphere has changed. You still call yourself a graduate, it’s a title you hold on to tightly. However, no one seems to be answering your C.V. You watch as it ricochets back and forth through cyberspace to different graduate scheme websites. It’s in this time that you lose that certain sense of purpose. You’re sleepwalking while friends are flying. The regimented sense of certainty is lost as soon as you stumble up that stage and your clammy hands clutch that certificate. With a deep breath you realise that now you have a choice.
By Olivia Metcalfe8 years ago in Motivation
Sage Smudging 101
Sage is a sacred plant that was widely used among Indigenous Americans in spirit and energy practices over 2,000 years ago. I always heard of sage and its uses to clear out negative energies and set intentions for positives energies to flow into a space and after doing some research I decided to do a sage smudging of my own. From my research, I learned that the burning of the sage sticks and the smoke it creates acts as a vacuum to dispel and release negative energy from a home, office or intended creative space. I purchased my sage from The Phoenix and the Dragon bookstore here in Atlanta. The shop is a good resource for beginners and the employee who checked me out noted that after I burn the sage I should do something I enjoy because this invites in the positive energies I wanted to create. There are different types of sage and each is said to be used for different purposes and I chose the white sage. The most interesting fact I learned about sage smudging was from a Chopra.com article revealing that the goal of the ceremony is to clear the space of lingering energy that is "different from what you may be intending for that space." That confirmed that a sage smudging was a good way to kick off my new year and new outlook on how I will reach all my goals this year.
By Courtney Ralls8 years ago in Motivation
The Four Stages of My Interests
I have a lot of interests, most of them I do and most of them I would like to do. I have a huge passion for story writing and creating videos, but I didn't manage to go far with those passions. I have four stages when it comes to interests. Observe, experiment, practice, and act. It's an unconscious thing for me, but I was aware of the routine I have done every time I have an interest.
By Mica Chau8 years ago in Motivation
Life, Love, and Humanity
It’s so strangely fascinating how small things can mean so much, how much impact they can have, and the huge lessons they can deliver in any circumstances and on any subject. The small things in this particular case are as seemingly mundane as it can get: two coins dug out of a pocket. Yet those two coins would ultimately be the first and perhaps the greatest lesson about life, love, and humanity I would ever learn, and all in one sitting no less. This was no penny for thoughts, but rather, the tremendous wisdom of thirty cents.
By Winchester Grey8 years ago in Motivation
Failure Is Always An Option
From birth there is a looming pressure that everything you do-- every grade you get, every decision you make-- will decide the person you become when you mature to adulthood and whether you will be "successful." Now the first part is certainly true. Everything that happens to you and that you do will shape you into a version of yourself. Good or bad, that version of you is who you are at that particular moment. But the great thing, and the key thing to remember, is that you have the power to change that version of you at any given moment. You just have to have the will and the motivation to do it.
By Simcha Glassman8 years ago in Motivation
The Comfort of Being Okay
I have come to realize that there is truly something to be said for being merely okay. As someone who has always tried to appear to be happy, this was a discovery for me. The concept of the daily lies we tell each other revealed itself to me over the summer. I started thinking about how, in today's world, it is effortless to come off as happy. We have social media, obviously, where we can easily put on a smile for the snapshot photo we post, although our followers will never really know what is behind that plastered smile.
By Josie Elizabeth8 years ago in Motivation
On the Cusp of Stupidity
There are so many chapters we all go through. We resemble books, pages of exposition and varying levels of climax, all over the course of our lives. Some, unfortunately, have short stories, and some don’t have happy endings. If you’re lucky though, you have moments that make up the highlights—almost like a “best of” section of your life. Sometimes those memories are the pivotal points that might not have been the best but brought you to something that was even better. All life is—is a collection of moments. These bursts of stupidity and courage that make you say, “I can’t believe I did that” and have you continue to say that for the rest of time. Taking chances when you wanted to just take a nap, and falling in and out of love passionately, like a child who finally got the opportunity to pick out their own clothes. There is no rhyme or reason for why things happen in the moment, and only some find the connections later on down the line, and only some embrace the unknown. To choose to fill your life with stories of wonder and risk is showing you realize it is an honor to be alive, and I think a lot of the time we forget that it’s so short. We play it safe, for the fear of making a fool of ourselves to someone or something that probably won’t matter in a matter of weeks. We hold our tongue with telling someone how we feel, just to stave off the possibility of heartbreak, even though the not telling them is probably killing us more. We calculate the risk in almost everything we do, but we don’t calculate the reward. The times we say “fuck it” and throw caution to the wind, and kiss the guy, or kiss the girl, or quit the job, those are the times that we revel in later in life. Not the times we almost quit the job, or almost kissed the girl. Those are the things we categorize as regrets, things that could have been. Things change so rapidly in this life, that by the time we decide to make a choice, it could have already been made for us. We have to start living life, and not just enduring it. It is a beautiful thing to be nervous and scared and hopeful and anxious. It means there is still a heart beating in our chest, pumping blood through our veins, giving us a reason to stand up and make a decision. In a world that is so full of choices, we need to take advantage. The next time you are faced with a fight or flight moment, fucking jump. Pretend that you can fly because you might just surprise yourself. Betting on ourselves is the scariest thing we can do because, it means that whatever the outcome, it’s on us. There is no one to blame, but us. Take pride in your failures, and let them guide you to your next move. Be humbled, and be gracious of the way that you took a shot. Be proud of all of your synapses firing and misfiring because it is what makes you, you. Nothing is worse than wondering what could have happened. Staying home and wishing doesn’t fill your life with stories, it fills them with what ifs. To live a life with no what ifs is to live a life worth telling about to your children, and to your life partner. Living life a little bit reckless is to be brave, and an inspiration to others who would rather “sit this one out.” Be the motivation for someone else, by betting on you. Show them that even when life decides to kick you in the gut, you gather everything inside of you to prove that you’re just getting started. To be on the cusp of doing something potentially stupid with the best of intentions is to do justice to the body that your soul is living in.
By Samantha Lucier8 years ago in Motivation
Monsters Under the Bed. Monsters in Your Head?
What is your worst fear? Go ahead, think about it. Look away from the screen, move your eyes back and forth a few times. That seems to help. Okay. Got it? Now, what is the last, small, everyday fear you had? That being, something like opening your eyes quickly in the shower as you shampoo your hair because a brief memory of that scene from Psycho comes to mind with screeching violins playing. Or that time you were standing in line for a rollercoaster and you flashback to a summer evening at the fair on the octopus ride. You were screaming bloody murder and yelling lies out loud such as "I'm going into labour! Get me off this thing." You could maybe use that lie today, it might work, since your not seven any more. It's all fun and games until you have an anxiety attack as soon as the latches are fastened on the cold, plastic seat of the carnival ride. It's all fun and games until you have to figure out what to do with your life in the real world. You know, it's all games and fun until somebody loses an eye.
By Katee R8 years ago in Motivation
