I remember it like it was yesterday. A hot and sunny, seemingly normal day, until I came across a quote that would change my life forever. I’m just kidding, what really happened is I saw an inspirational quote and it made me want to barf. No joke. It also made me think about all the inspirational quotes I’ve come across in my life, and how much I ABSOLUTELY HATE them. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves. I sound really dramatic but I feel like the more you grow up, the more you realize there’s so much more than meets the eye. And these one-liners make things seem so simple on paper when life is anything but. So here are a few that make me wanna claw my eyes out. Enjoy!
“If you can dream it you can do it.” -Walt Disney
I really despise these kinds of quotes. It gives this false sense of security that all you have to do is think you’ll be whatever you want and that’s all it takes. Like you dreamt you’re the ruler of Mars? Voila, you are! Bad example but you know what I mean. And don’t get me wrong, belief is important. You won’t get anywhere without it. But it’s only a small piece to the puzzle. My worry is quotes like these can lead to complacency and a lack of accountability. That just with belief alone, you’ll achieve all your goals, it’s that easy. But that’s not how life works. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. You’re not given things, you have to be proactive.
“The big secret in life is that there is no secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” -Oprah Winfrey
Ahhh the queen herself. At least what she said is better than old Disney because hard work is always necessary. Greatness wouldn’t exist without hard work. But once again, there’s so much more that’s needed. Take tennis for example. It takes a ton of sweat and dedication to become a top pro tennis player. From a young age, parts of your life like school, friends, and hobbies have to take the backseat. And if you choose to pursue it, it’s hours on the court and in the gym six days a week, for years. It’s a lot of sacrifice, but sometimes it’s not enough. There are other factors like your environment, circumstances, and privilege, to name a few, that play a huge part. And while you have little say in how those factors turn out, it would be misleading and unrealistic to assume that they don’t also play a pivotal role.
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” -Michael Jordan
I get he’s trying to say that nothing’s going to wait for you, that you have to go and get it. But the issue I have is it makes you feel like everything is in your hands. That your livelihood and future is completely under your control. Like I said in my last blog post, so many things impact you that you have no control over. You can do everything right and there’s still no guarantee. Michael Jordan is the GOAT, and there is no doubt that he gave everything he had to become the best. But it would be foolish to say that he didn’t start with any advantages. And it would be even worse to say that the only reason other basketball players aren’t at his level is because they didn’t, “make it happen”. In sports, physicality plays a big part. But on top of that things like personality, mentality, body type, coordination, genetics, and talent are contributors too.
I’ll be the first to say that I have a giant amount of luck when it comes to my career. There are so many instances where if things didn’t happen the way they did I would not be in the position I’m in today. So at the risk of being redundant, there is much more than meets the eye. While these quotes aren’t all that bad, they’re missing the important message that each person’s path is different. Success is unique to everyone and measured in so many different ways. There isn’t a universal, cookie-cutter formula that applies to everybody. Sometimes life is generous and sometimes it’s extremely unfair. You never know where you’ll end up or whether your dreams will actually come true. But being self-aware and understanding your strengths and weaknesses is a great place to start.
If you have any thoughts or disagree with me, let me know I’d love to argue with you lol (I’m stubborn like that)
I don’t know if that was really depressing to hear, but I’m not entirely cynical. Here are some quotes I actually like:
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” -Maya Angelou
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston Churchill
“I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life. And when we make the choice to dare greatly, we sign up to get our asses kicked. We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.” -Brene Brown
You are so right on! xx
Way to choke. Absolutely humiliating.