Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Motivation.
A Life Lesson I Wish Someone Had Taught Me Years Ago
I never realized just how quickly one is able to learn and to grow. The kind of growth and knowledge that a school could never teach and the experiences no parent could protect their child from undergoing: these are the inevitable factors which took place, and which molded me into the person I am right here, right now.
By Lauren Victoria8 years ago in Motivation
The Roads of Rome
Imagine, if you will, yourself back in 1776 sitting at a local pub that’s filled with your neighbors, friends, co-workers, and other members of the community. The air is filled with the most sensational blend of bliss, shock, pride, hope, ambition, courage, and inspiration making the ale you’re enjoying somehow taste that much better. Suddenly, a few tables over, a young man proceeds to stand up on his chair, propping one foot up on the table, and boldly raise his freshly poured pint into the air with his right hand while simultaneously waving the rest of the pub silent with his left. A few throat-clearings later, the chatter dwindles down to near silence with all eyes fixed on this young man as he surveys the room; searching for the appropriate words to express the message he believes so necessary to deliver to his newfound audience. A few moments of silence pass, unintentionally invoking peak anticipation throughout the entire pub, before the young man’s eyes match the fire in his soul and he proceeds to shout, “TO FREEDOM!” You, along with the rest of the pub, immediately blast out of your chair and erupt into cheers, thrusting your pint into the air so enthusiastically you end up wearing more of your ale than you’ve drunk and you couldn’t care less because after years of fighting a war that you were not supposed to win against an enemy viewed by the rest of the world as invincible—you overcame the odds, you won the war, and you finally have the privilege, no, the honor of being able to say exactly that, “to freedom.”
By Christopher Tumblin8 years ago in Motivation
Purpose
The question everyone asks at one point in their life is "What is the meaning of life?" Once the question is asked, the pondering begins. It could last for hours, days, weeks, or even a couple seconds. Why is that, do you suppose? Why is it that, when trying to figure out this mystery, we can't all just do it in the same amount of time and get the same answer? I mean, if there was an actual, tangible meaning to life wouldn't we all have figured it out by now? I think the reason it is this way is because there is no meaning. Now, I know that this can sound pretty depressing and my reasons sound a bit childish and naive, but I have more for you so please keep reading. I know I'm just behind a computer screen writing words on a page but I feel like someone will stumble upon this and take something significant from it.
By David Martinez8 years ago in Motivation
Is the World Really As Bad As Everyone Thinks?
All over the news, media, and internet, all we see is the bad stuff. The crazy, brutal, scary bad stuff. But the question we want to find the answer to is, is what we see is the full story? Is this the real deal? Is the bad stuff, the ONLY thing happening in the world?
By Angela Altland8 years ago in Motivation
Loving Yourself Is Hard
The struggle started when I was eight years old. I remember looking at my parents and asking them if I was "fat." At eight years old, no little girl should even know what fat means, but I did. I wasn't fat, and I wasn't even chubby, but the little girl I was looked in the mirror and saw an extra 50 pounds on her body. I thought this was normal. Little did I know, this was merely the beginning. Fast forward on to middle school. My parents had divorced and so we moved from my hometown just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio to a small place called Clay County, Kentucky. This, in a sense, was the beginning of the large-scaled problems I had, and still have to deal with today. This middle school was different than other school I had been to. It was a small school, probably no more than 200 kids at the most, and this meant that everyone who went there knew each other. This made it very difficult for me as an incoming seventh grader to make friends. Everyone knows nowadays that kids can be really cruel, and I can vouch for that saying. I was a very short, small girl in middle school, and many people took advantage of that. I was pushed into lockers and told to go back to where I came from. I was bullied by boys that were bigger than me, was called a prude and a “city slicker,” and never really felt like I fit in. This gave way for my self-hate to sneak its way back into my life. Since then, I have continued to struggle with loving myself and accepting myself the way I am. It lead the way for my eating disorder to begin, and my life got really dark, but that is another story. Today, I am a freshman in college at the university of Kentucky, and I’m a major in Elementary Education. My goal for this year has been to learn how to love myself, and although I haven’t quite accomplished that yet, I am still working on it. Everyone is unique in their own way, and that’s okay! Being you is really the only option, because being someone else will only make you a clone. You are amazing just as you are, and when you realize that, a whole new sense of happiness will engulf your soul.
By Makenzie Hicks8 years ago in Motivation
Do Not Sink, Start Swimming
Depression is no laughing matter. Personally speaking, I have had my fair share of depressed days, rage out moments, and times where I felt my world was coming to an end. Life is what you make of it, so what do you do when you feel like life has no meaning? You make lemonade, what I mean is that you get up and you do not just pop a pill and think that your bad day or life for that matter will just disappear. Get up and get moving. Push yourself to work out, find a hobby to do, get with a support group if you do not have family that will be understanding. Go to therapy not just to see a psychiatrist but an actual therapist. When life gives you lemons you make lemonade. Get up, throw away the shackles of the pity party you are throwing for yourself and look in the mirror and say I am stronger than the problems that I am facing. My life has to mean something greater than what I can only see. My purpose may be unknown to me right now but I will find it as I keep involving myself in positive things, skill sets, and align myself with good people. The saying that you are who you hang around is so true. I have had some bad people I used to call friends in my life and they took from me until I felt like I had nothing left to myself. I got to the point where I cut off so many people I was the only person left in my circle. I felt paranoid like trusting people was something very difficult to do even though I had done it so many times in the past with ease. I had felt like I was spent and I could not give any more compassion from my heart.
By Stanley Odujole8 years ago in Motivation
The Achilles Heart
So a lot of us have heard the story about the Achilles heel, but very few get what it actually may mean. I considered myself to be an aspiring writer until I finally decided to get off my butt and start writing a book. It began with me getting into research as far as what the heck do I need to know to start writing my first book. I started with a number of sources, but one in particular, I felt, did me the most justice: How to Read Literature Like an English Professor by Thomas E. Foster.
By Davon J. T.8 years ago in Motivation
Living Off-the-Cuff
With the many self-help books out there, no one can imagine the millions of perspectives out there, including my own. Until you see all the viewpoints in different writings, then you are bombarded with which direction to go. Even the different religious books state in one way or the other, theirs is the one and only to read. Not saying that you shouldn’t read your preferred books, by no means. These writings all give you an outline, of the day in the life of the one writing it, of course. The author’s point of view or experience is what they write from, that may or may not help you at the time. We essentially do know (or should know) what is right and wrong for us.
By Shawn C Mace8 years ago in Motivation
The Unwritten Journey of a Young Woman
Have you ever imagined what your calling in life truly is? Do you know what it is you really wanna do but you have family members and friends telling you otherwise? or Maybe you have supportive Family Members and Friends who truly know you better than yourself, but have you taken the time to get to know yourself and discover your true talents? That's the state of mind that I'm at right now. I'm a 22 year old Community College Student that's almost done with her Associates degree in Biology and I have no idea what I want to do with my life at the moment. I'm currently a Substitute Teacher and I'm about to get fired from one of the districts I sub for just because the Education System is messy and they have nothing else better to do with themselves besides setting up good teachers so they can fire them at a instant. Now of course, I still have my other Substitute Job and I have a couple of business ventures I'm doing as well so I'll be fine financially which isn't the problem. The problem I have as something to do my spiritual being and mental being, it's much bigger than what i see in front of me. My problem is I have a long work history of multiple jobs that I've worked at but none of those jobs resemble my true passion of work. Now, you ask well what is your passion of work? What do you really want to do with your life? And that question has yet to be answered consistently. My life starts out 22 years ago when I was born in San Antonio,TX to a Single mother who gave birth to me when she was 6 months pregnant. I was born prematurely at 1 lb. 4 oz. Most doctors back in the 90's thought I was gonna die within my first few months of life but i beat those odds all because I had a mother who wouldn't give up on me and who prayed to God for my health consistently. Now, most of you will see this story and will be like "OMG, That's so awesome. Your a miracle baby!!!" which is what i expect people to say but Honestly I'm blessed to be alive today and I knew my purpose in life was to make a difference in the world but How was I gonna do that? So, I don't know if you believe in God or not but I'm a firm believer in God and what he can do. So i prayed to God one night and I asked what I should be doing with my life because I have no idea and of course he didn't answer back right away but soon after God began to show signs to me of what I love to do which is Dance. God puts people in your life for a reason so in my case, he put my mom in my path to show me that Dance is what I should be doing because it's a natural gift of mine its just not everyone sees it. Now this semester in college has been really fun because I'm in Ballet Class and I recently joined the Dance Club at my school so I'm gonna be performing in the Spring Showcase :) I'm really excited for what God has in store for me. My advice for all the women out there who are trying to follow their dreams or trying to figure out what to do with their lives is listen to the people around you that are trying to be a positive light in your life and go with it. Don't take that with a grain of salt, Let life flow and see where it takes you and listen for God's voice because life and God go hand and hand if you really think about it. Life and God take you down some crazy paths, it's up to you on whether or not you decide to run with what he has in store and have a truly fulfilled life. The choice is yours. What do you decide? That's my story, I want to know your story. Whats your passion and will you follow it?
By Taeja Williams8 years ago in Motivation
