“Positivity on the Internet”- Does Anyone Actually Need it?

Guess what people, I have some really super positive news for you. YOU YES YOU!! “Everything you need will Come to you at the perfect time”, “Every day is a chance to change your life“, “Happy Monday, it is going to be an awesome week”.

Enough? Alright it is actually ok to feel that these didn’t really motivate you much, and I know that you are not the only one. As these quotes can certainly be misinterpreted in various ways, while when being bombarded by them on the internet, it can be rather annoying…

Saying this, it can seem rather silly to question something which has been scientifically proven to motivate us. Yes, really. This is due to the nature of how these quotes are presented, including the “coaching factor” where the quote leads some people to feel they are being somewhat “coached” along the way to achieve something. Whilst the “power of language“, and “the primal aspect” (explaining how humans are naturally inspired) further lead to the success of these. However the clique that some of these quotes hold are not always going to be helpful, and sometimes I feel they can stimulate us in wanting to do things which aren’t necessarily healthy or desirable.

Too Motivating??

So reading up about posts telling us that we should work harder, work longer hours and perform more vigorous exercise is all good, until there comes a point where they make us feel guilty as we feel like we are not sticking strongly to these principles. Meanwhile if we are more directly influenced by sayings like these, we may think that we are doing ourselves a favor, but there may come a point where we end up preventing ourselves from doing the things which we love in life whilst being in a state of constant exhaustion.

Therefore it seems as if too much motivation in life isn’t always going to be good for us, or good in general. But what are some of the deeper implications of this?

The Wrong Life

Alright, so as already touched upon, these quotes may be well meaning, but following these religiously isn’t always going to guarantee a fulfilling life. “Some people dream of success, others stay awake to achieve it”. Fair so it is well meaning, however the broader meaning of this could that it is more than alright to stop caring for yourself in order to become more “successful”. Meanwhile the amount of work someone chooses to or not to put in, doesn’t determine their value and worth as a person.

What’s more is that quotes telling us that we need to be constantly focusing on work could suggest too that it is alright to miss out on other aspects of life. Which can subsequently lead to anyone ending up devoting insufficient time to the things in life which matter such as time with family and friends, time snug up with a book or even time spent walking the dog. Now amongst all of of what we see telling us how work orientated our lives should be, it is important to ask ourselves whether we really want this kind of life.

Unhealthy

So from what I have already said, you can probably gather that buying too much into quotes like these isn’t going to be too healthy, because we either end up not allowing sufficient self care, or we merely end up feeling bad about ourselves. Subsequently this can lead to a decline in mental health, simply because we are not giving ourselves adequate rest, while we are putting ourselves under too harsh expectations. This can lead to a viscous cycle where we are always expecting more from ourselves, rather than being satisfied by any improvement or change, causing unnecessary stress.

Now this may seem like a not too relevant example, but just take exercise and diet culture. In spite of what’s true, we are told everyone’s body has the capacity to become “leaner”, “stronger” or “thinner” as it can apparently be molded into any shape of our choice. This can lead to feelings of unworthiness concerning body image, and while eating healthy and working out is of course good for us; when people take this to another level or when people feel less worthy due to their lifestyle or even body image, this becomes a problem. This is also obviously relevant to work.

Um so you are being a little fake now

So these quotes can be looked at into depth, however being realistic not everyone is necessarily going to read that deeply, or be affected that heavily by them. However just by glancing over some of these quotes, they do seem rather intimidating.

“Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn’t get you anywhere”. Helpful? Um, I am not too sure. While it is telling people that there is no point in worrying about something, people regardless of whether they struggle with anxiety or not, are probably going to know this. This way, the quote is likely to have nothing to it, apart from being patronising. And while it can potentially lead to further adverse affects, thinking about it from a simple perspective, it and so many others are just rather irrelevant.

Am I Taking this a bit too far?

Yes is probably the short answer. Because generally speaking few people are going to heavily overlook something which they come across on the internet. However they do seem rather unnecessary, and it is important to keep in mind that they could potentially have a less positive impact.

It is therefore important to either carry on ignoring quotes like these if they don’t interest you, or take them with a nice pinch of salt. Remember you are validated! Meanwhile no one let anything patronise you about how you should be feeling, when you know that you know better!