Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Motivation.
Lost and Found
I am currently writing this while recovering from a concussion, the words on the page are a hazy blur, I will no doubt pay for it with a headache later. All is well. The new year was a strange one, as all things have been for the past while, but a new perspective is needed to make it through these crazy times. If not new, at least, altered. I spent the past year working too hard on things I didn’t care about, spent being the key word. I was neglecting self-care for to chase a paycheck, burning the candle at both ends to live at the whim of the dollar. There are many lessons to be learned in life and we often ignore them, turn the other way and pretend the obvious isn’t calling out to us; what we don’t know can’t hurt, right?
By Romario Ashley6 years ago in Motivation
Your Narrative is Your Narrative...
Let's be real...The year of our lord 2020 has, is, and will always be remembered as a complete dumpster fire. From demagogues to cults of personality, to untimely and difficult passings, to a pandemic that's giving the 1918 Spanish Influenza outbreak a run for its money, 2020 has given no quarter in terms of the trama that's been dished out to the people that have lived through it. In some ways, 2020 has forced us to examine our collective and individual mettle in ways that we rarely explore. Honestly, many of us have failed those trials in an epic, hunger games-ish kind of way and it's hard to look at that failure with a fresh set of eyes. Well, 2020 has inevitably ended and 2021 has brought us what the beginning of every new year normally does for the bulk of humanity.
By Herbert L. Seward III6 years ago in Motivation
Do Not Make a Resolution...
Every year on the dawn of January 1st people wake up and plan a lofty list of resolutions for their year. Some are simple, like going to drink more water, or going to buy this thing I have put off for the last few years. Others however, are life changing acts, such as loosing 200lbs over the next year. Or deciding to finally get married. Most give up within a few weeks, others burn out after a few months, and then there are those who really desire change. The ones that follow through, endure, and inspire.
By Shalynn McCallum6 years ago in Motivation
My Ongoing Odyssey to Confidence
When I find myself in social interactions, my hands become clammy. My heart hammers against my chest, and I become as scared and flustered as a retracted turtle. My stomach becomes infested with hideous moths, who beg for an escape. And it never takes long for my worst thoughts to consume me. Do they notice how uncomfortable I am? Can they hear my racing heartbeat? Why am I so embarrassed?
By Naabiah6 years ago in Motivation
Cheers To All Things Unfamilar.
As we cautiously tiptoed into 2021, with many wary of the famous New Year resolutions and grandiose vision boards, the world swelled with collective optimism - naked relief and hope. We hoped for that new spark that comes with a new year - the same spark of several lights and colors that glisten the sky on the 31st; the fireworks accompanied by many merry wishes. That always did the trick.What a year, 2020!Confined to our four walls with family and friends, zooming screens, and TikTok challenges, our fireworks were as loud, colorful, and glistening more than ever because the world as a whole heaved a sigh of relief.Finally!Finally, what?Finally, how?We had spent months of 2020 holding our breaths for 2020(1). Another chapter. But dare I say the same book.The same tedious, outrageous, overbearing book - every page flipping on its own, as if to say,“Ready or not, here I cooommee!”Ready or not, it did come. Not ready at all, we all watched as life unfolded.Being fully aware of the facade behind a new chapter, I packed my bags and journeyed to my birthplace.The same place that when I graced her dry and patched walls, incredibly familiar door creaks, and antique artworks, I took for granted. It wasn’t a pilgrimage, yet I had hoped for cleansing along the way. Even though, for far too long, I had fantasized about leaving behind that place and never coming back.Who needed the dusty old town when you could have the shining blazing lights in the York?But on this day, I stuffed my bags with some clothes, snacks for the road, and some classic novels of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus, and Americanah, just in case I got bored with my screen.I went in search of tranquility, familiarity, memories that brought back memories, smells that whisked you decades back to the living room, sharing Grandma’s food on her favorite stool. Not a care in the world. Not a tear because there was no cause.Somebody take me back in time! Back in time, when people could lean in for a kiss, forget themselves in tight embraces and bump into each other, only to become lovers ten days after. Take me back to the time when we could all sit in the comfortable darkness of the theatres munching on some popped corn, with friends, family, and perfect strangers – strangers we could see beyond their eyes and register the curve of their lips. It is the little things. It was always the little things.Hungrily, I drove in search of the small things to remind me that though the ground beneath my feet had moved, I was still standing. Maybe wobbly, maybe one-legged, but I wasn’t bent and subdued on my knees.Maybe, I could begin again with a new slate, you know? A fresh start for 2021 was only ideal after a whole year of harsh and gory realities.Along the journey, however, I had no clue for what I wanted -A fresh start, a thrust to the past, or a damn revolution!And as I twisted the knob that opened to me a flooding sweet, nostalgic past, my one leg finally gave way from under me. And I was on my knees. Subdued.Even there, the pain of what once lived tugged restlessly at my little, fragile heart. Now stuck between my endless yearn for the past and my present disdain for the present, I would undoubtedly settle for a damn revolution.A complete overhaul of all once known!Nothing would ever remain the same - not the past, not the present. But the future, no one knows, yet I would wager that in the deepest confines of my slumber.Let’s write a new book. No one cares for another chapter in the same ole book.And after an eternity on my knees, I wobbled up on one leg and sped far away from the scraps and aches of yesterday.I guess what I’m trying to say is, I have learnt to hold on to that which I have control of and let the chips fall where they may, for those things that decide to go haywire. It is such a vital master key to sanity. Some might say life.That said, cheers to never looking back, good riddance to the hurt that comes with the regrets, and let’s hear it for all the things new to come - all things unfamiliar and fresh. Your time starts now!
By Priscilla K6 years ago in Motivation
///Bared.Nights.Birds
What three words? These three words.. What do they mean? Well.. more than I initially thought. How? Let me explain. "Every 3m squared in the world has been given a three word address." Stick that into your chosen internet search engine and smoke it.. I have a wordcount after all.
By Nathalie Limon6 years ago in Motivation
New Year, Two Kids?!
What a year 2020 was! I think for everyone 2021 seems like a breath of fresh air in the right direction with our at least understanding of what this Covid craziness truly is. Not being able to see family, friends, attend Thanksgiving dinners and exchange presents at Christmas time for some is quite the mental rollercoaster for just about anyone. Like most people at least one item on my new year agenda is to get in the best physical shape I have ever gotten in. That usually lasts about a month or two until a stressful day at work results in my perusing the wine and frozen pizza aisles at the local supermarket. This year though I have a bit more motivation to get in shape; my wife is pregnant with twins! Now this is an amazing thing, I am on the cusp of turning 30 and in a matter of months, poof! I will have a son and a daughter to take care of. Insert grey hairs now! These will be our first children and they are already all the motivation I need to turn my life around for the better.
By Ragnar Josephson6 years ago in Motivation
New Year, Same Me
I do not love resolutions because I tend to give up on them which in turn makes me feel like I’m giving up on myself, but I do love a fresh start. Whether it is the first of the month or the first of the year, I take any opportunity to pause for gratitude and soak in the beauty of turning a blank page.
By Trish Felecos6 years ago in Motivation
