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Inspiring Quotes to Reignite Your Motivation

Move over Helen Keller and Vince Lombardi; Demotivators have inspiring quotes covered.

By Ben KharakhPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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Humor can light a fire under your tuchus just as well as a cat challenging you to, "Hang in there." That's because humor's connection to surprise means we access a point of view we don't already have. Sometimes that point of view undermines the very roadblocks to our motivation. Maybe we're wrong from the get-go to be so concerned about particular goals and values, and you might not know that until someone has made fun of them.

EnterDespair, Inc., which has been making fun of motivation since 1998 with their Demotivators series. The whole line is kind of like Youtube rabbit holes you can't stop watching because you can lose at least an hour just reading every Demotivator. But Demotivators actually serve as legitimate inspiring quotes because sometimes irony is exactly what we need to push us forward just enough to cross the finish line into success, a sentiment Demotivators would tear to shreds.

Many of us are preoccupied with legacies. What will we mean when we're dead? How will our children remember us? Will we have made a positive impact on this world? But maybe our efforts are misdirected and what we really need is to worry less. That's why this is one of the inspiring quotes to reignite your motivation. Focus less on work and more on developing and maintaining your emotional ties to others because, at the end of the day, that's what makes life worth living. As Vince Lombardi said, "Anyone who thinks football is more important than other people is as smart as a football."

There's this story about how a violinist in a rigorous college program was told by her professor to quit because she'd never be good enough to be a famous and successful violinist. She may have wanted to know how to stay motivated after dropping out of university, but instead she kept practicing and became good enough to be first chair in a world-renowned symphony orchestra. Later, she met her old instructor and he said, "I told you to quit because only a true artist would continue to practice without the possibility of fame and fortune." That story is a less funny version of this poster, which makes this Demotivator one of the top-notch inspiring quotes to reignite your motivation.

A laughable truth is an accurate description of reality so accurate that it transcends both markers of sameness and difference to unite everyone with guffaws. And, at the end of the day, that's the metaphysics of humor. YOU'RE WELCOME; GOOD LUCK WRITING YOUR OWN JOKES NOW! That's right, knowing how it's done doesn't necessarily make it any easier. There's still going to be plenty of challenges along the way. Oh, so many challenges! And this Demotivator nails it, making it one of the best inspiring quotes to reignite your motivation. Sit with the pain of your challenge and make room in your life for that suffering because life is full of pain that sometimes doesn't even have any redeemable qualities other than being a way to emotionally connect with others' tragedies. As Steve Jobs used to say, "Death is all around us, so buy an Apple Watch."

Motivation is a luxury. Sometimes you have to work like a disaster, with no time for second guesses or for breaks. Your nourishment is a mixture of protein powder and Nespresso consumed in under a minute every three to four hours. And that's a luxury too! And yet that sentiment is one of the inspiring quotes to reignite your motivation because you've made your performance contingent upon a feeling. Guess what: you can feel great and produce dreck. Skills aren't contingent upon how you feel; they're contingent upon you getting to work! As Helen Keller used to say, "Stop complaining all the time and do your job!"

Sigh. This is just true. That's why this is one of the inspiring quotes to reignite your motivation. As Albert Einstein once said to both Hellen Keller and Vince Lombardi, "We could come up with some really stupid shit as a team and what good would that do anybody?"

Despair Inc keeps the hits coming with inspiring quotes to reignite your motivation! A common theme among Demotivators is injecting doubt into the foundation of our endeavors. Don't worry, though, if you ever doubt too much, just doubt your own doubt to get out of emotionally spiraling. When you doubt your own doubt, you learn that you're already in the habit of worrying about particular things and you can develop an awareness of what your triggers are. Do this long enough to achieve enlightenment! As Albert Einstein used to say, "Sometimes I get nervous too, bro, but then I think about time and get all chill."

Waiting for motivation to strike is a form of procrastination. That makes this one of the inspiring quotes to reignite your motivation by reminding you that you don't need motivation. DO YOUR WORK!

Wow. Yeah, this is one of the inspiring quotes to reignite your motivation because it challenges you to recognize the arrogance at the center of your need for a call to arms. You think you're deserving of being motivated. Get off your high horse and get to work! Remember the words of Theodore Roosevelt, "I walk softly and carry a big stick so I can whack you anytime you're not working!"

Sure, there are easy things that will magically transform you into a morning person. But as Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living," because you might accidentally be living a life that just hurts yourself and others. That's why this Demotivator is one of the best inspiring quotes around. It reminds you that you die, and while you're alive, you should try to do what you love. Because if you don't love what you're doing then, guess what, you're the worm.

This is one of the inspiring quotes to reignite your motivation because it reminds you not to let your life become two sets of arms pulling in opposite directions. Sometimes we need that reminder because we are two arms pulling in opposite directions. That's what it means when what you want is at odds with what you do. It may be a luxury to do what you want all of the time; but it's not a luxury to do what you want some of the time. The trick is in finding the right balance, which is 100% not two dudes pulling in opposite directions. Remember the Maya Angelou quote: "Don't be those dudes!"

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About the Creator

Ben Kharakh

Manic pixie dream goth. With appearances in Fortune, Vice, Gothamist, and McSweeney's.@benkharakh

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