In This Online Group, People Post Stories Of People Doing Whatever They Want Despite Their Unfortunate Circumstances
Welcome to the unofficial warm blanket of the internet where pandemic stress is put on hold for as long as you’re there and everything looks just a little bit better. The subreddit called r/GetMotivated welcomes you with a soul-soothing “We’re glad you made it.” Because they know how hard it is to escape the harrowing reality of sad, fake, and plain ‘can’t take it no more’ news.
But here, a whopping 17 million members are sharing all things motivation that promise to “help you finally get up and do what you *know* you need to do.” And sometimes it’s all that you need.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight to the land of pure wholesomeness where strangers who share these motivational posts suddenly become your only support group.
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Absolute Motivation
It Always Gets Better. Just Keep Pressing Forward
The world has been one heck of a ride lately. And even though the cursed year of 2020 is already behind our backs, the new year hasn’t been as forgiving as we hoped. With coronavirus mutations, political turmoil and on-off quarantines and restrictions around the globe, many feel drained like never before.
But although the start hasn’t been that fresh, there’s always a way to keep yourself positive, mindful, and motivated. These three words may sound like something reserved for yoga people, but trust me, it’s all easier than we think. So to find out the secrets of navigating through life when it’s a pain in the rear, Bored Panda reached out to the positivity coach and author of “Positive Young Minds” Lynn How.
Lynn told us that in difficult times, although she felt she was functioning normally, her “resilience to sudden changes or unexpected issues cropping up were suddenly a big thing.” It turns out that without inner strength, our resilience in periods of crisis can be impaired.
Doing Things Poorly Is More Than Worth It
Sometimes Ya Just Have To Ask
Good for you! I work at an aviation college and we have aircraft in our hangar for the students to learn on. When we have a visitor you can just see the look in their eyes "I really REALLY would love to get into that F16 cockpit!" It generally takes very little coaxing from me to make them jump in. You could light up rooms with the smiles - and of course plenty of pictures get taken (as long as no classified info is included).
“Sometimes to add and build that inner strength, you need to let those emotions out as opposed to burying them deep inside (a popular coping mechanism). On many occasions, burying your emotions (which I describe affectionately as Ostrich Syndrome) can be more detrimental in the long term than letting them out.”
According to Lynn, inner strength is the ability to keep getting up when you get knocked down. Incredibly, we all are born with it and it’s the skill we learn in the first few years of our lives when those neural pathways are still developing. If they’re not developed at that time, “then you may find yourself less resilient as an adult.”
You Will Either Find A Way, Or An Excuse
Set Goals And Reach Them
The Last Two Runners In The Pittsburgh Marathon Not Letting Each Other Quit. Obtain Your Goal No Matter What
I ran a marathon a few years back. For non-athletes like me, it's very challenging, very strenuous and many people don't even cross the finish line. So these two are heroes for accomplishing something that most people can't. "Even if you run a mile, it's a mile more than if you never run at all"
Recovery Is Possible And It's Worth It
I love this story even though it is hard to look at. Prayers for your mom and everyone who helped you to sobriety and especially for you as you navigate your recovery.
At the time I was very grateful my mom gave me another ride to a hospital after the first one kicked me out to die. I don't really owe her credit in my recovery, because she was never apart of my life before my addiction and especially when i had nothing. but i called her one day when i couldnt take it anymore (i was days away from death, i know for a fact) and she drove 3 hours to get me. i was so shocked. but im glad i called. she didnt visit in the hospital or even let me stay with her after my heart surgery, and had to stay in a motel i could barely afford, BUT we have been working on our relationship. It has been very difficult but we talk now pretty regularly and have never had this kind of relationship before. unfortunately i didnt have much else support at all. i mean from the hospital kicking me out knowing i was going to die from heart failure, all because i had a panic attack, to nurses telling me i deserved the pain i was in and telling me i would end up relapsing.
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its me in the pic. im glad it gives you hope!!! <3
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I was 5"4 and 200lbs. My body was so swollen from alcohol bloating that I couldn't wear rings on my fingers and actually had to have one cut off.... I was addicted to alcohol for over 10 years. I had tried q few time to get sober, but everytime I fell back into the bottle. The last time God had had enough! He brought me to hell, I was reliving my sexual abuse, as a movie set on repeat. I was fighting with my soul mate (who loved me through it all), I was constantly sick, and I drank .75 of a gallon of cheap rot gut vodka, it was so bad that I had to keep vodka on my night stand, when the alcohol started leaving my system I would wake up shaking, with my heart racing, because I was in withdrawal. I would drink to go back to sleep. At the end (like 1.5 months) I WANTED so so badly to get sober I had enough, I begged every hospital crisis center, & stabization unit in my area to help me... I live in America in the deep south without insurance.... They turned me away to basically die. How it came to a head is I have type 1 diabetes, so the alcohol put me into diabetic ketoacidosis ( What that feel like is starving to death, but not being able to eat because you felt like you where kicked in the stomach, but it didn't matter anyways if I did get food in the pain was still there, I was so tired I slept 16 hours a day,I felt like my body was on fire , and there was acid in my veins... Because there was. Worat of all it started effecting my breathing, I couldn't catch my breath. All of this only took 24 hours to onset) when I got to the hospital my blood was so acidic that the Dr looked at me and said, had I not have gotten to the hospital I would have died in less than 5 hours. I was 5 hours from death! This forced their hand finally to detox me, because I spent 6 days in the ICU getting my body chemistry recalabrated.
Before -she looks early 40s. After- age 16. What a transformation and recovery is right.
This is such a wonderful story! I think you should be on talkshows, to tell it! And boy, how pretty you are!
You are amazing and mys wish is that you wake up everyday remembering how fantastic you are so that the demons don't stand a chance against you. God's blessings on you
Congratulations,I know how hard you worked.19 years sober this year.
You are beautiful and an important part of the human family. So happy you returned.
As long as there is a thread of hope a Mom will find a way to bring their children through the fire and into the light. Bless your Mamas heart and bless you for winning the battle.
Wow! You are AMAZING! Forward you go and never look back! You are a STAR!
A HUGE congratulations! Not everybody wants it bad enough!! You’re very blessed.
Well done, keep doing what you're doing never be tempted 'coz you is gorgeous honey.
i was abandoned by my entire family at 18. left to the streets. i already struggled badly with mental illness, in and out of mental hospitals, self harm, suicide attempts. plus i have bpd. over the next few years i experienced some horrible trauma. i was held against my will while hitchiking and asking for a ride, and he took me to a drug house where they forced me to do drugs and clean and other favors. i was too terrified to leave. i had nowhere else to go. thats what started a whole new hell for me.
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Gurrrrrl, you ARE wonderful, and worth the fight it took to get where you see now. And, congratulations for coming out the other side.
I thank God EVERYDAY for showing me hell. I believe without that taste of what hell truly can be, I would have never found my way out of that cycle of self destruction. I am a stubborn ass! I also thank him for also bringing me out of it. Today I am 18 months sober, and all alcohol holds over anymore is FEAR, deep deep fear, because I know where it takes me. I have lost 65 lbs, (that just fell off of me after the alcohol was gone), I have gotten my life back, my soul mate proposed, I have changed my life completely around... Greatest of all I was able to save my 8 year old little boy from his neglectful, alcoholic father, who lives in a 35 year old, mold, and cockroache infested trailer in the middle of deep the kind of deep south everyone that's not from the south thinks of when they think of us. Thank you God for saving anyone that truly needs you!
He Lets Nothing Get In His Way
“All is not lost though, as increasingly, we are finding out more information through recent research about the brain's neuroplasticity.” Lynn explained further: “In simplistic terms, this is the brain’s ability to rewire itself with the correct input e.g. positive reinforcement and therapeutic treatments such as cognitive behavior therapy.”
That means that even though we may not be necessarily resilient in the first place, our brain has the capacity to “rewire itself,” which is essentially to learn resilience even though it never really had it. Very effective methods to do so are positive affirmations and mindfulness practices that everyone can practice at home.
Arnie Says Take It One Step At A Time
Never Let Your Circumstances Define You
If You Change The Way You Look At Things, The Things You Look At Change
Eating with friends and eating alone are both fine. Some days a girl has to take herself out...go to three different places because she can’t make up her mind and has a big appetite. There’s no one or thing to consider except if you should bother wearing pants in the first place.
Many people feel like mindful meditation is not for them. Even experts are not immune to that. “I would have nominated myself last year with the ‘person least likely to meditate’ award, but things have changed. I am an over analyzer,” Lynn told us.
“However, now I have set aside 15–20 minutes a day to just 'be.’ I have trained myself to sit in silence with an empty mind. It took a while as when you start to do this, you just think about everything you haven’t done that day (often described as your monkey mind!).”
I Think Talking To Ourselves Like How The Babysitter Did With The Girl, And Having Fun Would Be Good For All Ages!
Never Give Up
Being Human
I really like this. I hope that if I am ever in that position, I will build a Guinness record table.
Broken But Not Useless
This Could Be You. Never Let A "Disability" Or Anyone Else Hold You Back. Achieve
After training to simply be, Lynn said she now can sit with an empty head with zero thoughts and she describes the experience as “very cathartic.” The positivity coach said that “If you don’t fancy the silence, there are thousands of guided meditations on YouTube,” but most importantly, assign some time to yourself.
Apparently I Don’t Need To Pay Money For A Therapist Because Random Instagram Posts Are Calling My Ass Out For Free
Never Forgotten
Everybody Deserves A Second Chance
On This Day In 1943. Give Yourself To A Cause
Thank You, Getmotivated!
It’s Never Too Late To Find What You Want
No Matter How Tough Your Life Is, There Is Always Time For Change
Sometimes You Just Have To Open The Cabinet
Never Give Up On Your Dream
i bet there are thousands of pictures similar to the left picture. But there is only one schooling. Pick your rivals carefully
Helping Those Around You Will Benefit You Greatly
True Teacher
A science teacher from rural Kenya who donates most of his salary to help poorer students has been crowned the world's best teacher and awarded a $1 million prize, beating 10,000 nominations from 179 countries.
Please Live By This, No Matter What
Yes! Some people are just hanging by a thread. Please don't be the one to push them over the cliff.
My Recovery From Addiction - My Name Is Hunter Michael Shepard And I Am An Addict In Long Term Recovery. If You’re Struggling Today Just Know There Is Hope. Put The Dope Down And F**king Crush Life. You’re Worth It
We All Have To Start Somewhere
Rebirth
Guiding Your Way Out
It’s okay to give yourself some downtime, but it’s important to know/realize when to get up/ get help/ start pulling yourself together. It’s a very narrow and incomplete view of struggling and pulling yourself out of that place. Please comment and add to this. The tools I use may not work for another person and it may not be helpful to me for the next funk I get into, so I’d like to learn and have more in my arsenal. I have begun hitting the gym again, wearing some lingerie/dresses, eating and visiting people I trust and worth the risk (no immune compromised or in direct contact of such a person), and hopefully catch up on some reading and checking out art exhibits. Communication is exhausting but worth it for the right people; same goes for vulnerability.
In 2006 My Boyfriend Asked Me An Epic Painting For His Birthday. 10 Years Later I Decided It Was Time To Finally Do What I Really Wanted. I Quit My Old Job And Started To Learn How Tho Paint. I Never Stoped Since Then! And I Painted Him Updated Versions Over The Years
Time Flies - Do What You Love
You Can Do It
Never Give Up On Healthy Habits
Love it! Another good one is: "Workout because you love your body, not because you hate it"
Be Your Own Hero
Be Intentional With What You Think About
I'm afraid of becoming a neurotic mess. Oh look, I'm a neurotic mess!
Measuring Success
Live Your Life
Love Yourself
Be Happy Alone First
Found In A Small Hostel In Albania
This Trucker Who Takes His Weight Rack With Him To Work Out At Truck Stops Makes No Excuses!
For All The "Failures, Disappointments, And Screwups" Out There
How Bad Do You Want It
My problem with this is that it is naive and fully ignores reality. In reality, sometimes doors are slammed shut in our face. Real bravery is choosing another path, not clawing at the closed door.
Note: this post originally had 90 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
This is great but I would like it if people really understood the true core of procrastination. It has a mental component. We should stop saying "if you truly want it you'd do it". We need to understand that success can look like getting out of bed that day, having a well fed family, a happy pet, a clean home, good relationships. I know that their are people who understand this I just want to say it as well. It's okay if you weren't accepted into an Ivy League school even though you tried. You can be successful without those schools. Nowadays truly loving yourself is a form of success. If you ask me it's the most important type of success
This is a good comment. Thanks for the reminder. I thought being a garbage collector in high school was a success story all by itself. That's a good job that does a lot of good in this world.
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I did a girls on the run in elementary even thought I hate running. At the end of the year we run a 5k but I was one of the last people in my group because I was super slow. The mom who help run it stayed with me. Its been almost ten year and I will never forget what she did.
I did that too! I really did not understand the point but it was really empowering looking back
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This is a really nice collection. I'm feeling a lot more positive after reading through these :)
i would love my two books to sell, it took me years to get the confidence to put my ideas out there, one is called The Riveters about the men that died building Titanic and the other is called Searching For Santa about what would happen if santa quit his job, avail on Amazon.
You wrote two books, that in itself is amazing. I am really proud of you! Please keep writing and sharing your gifts with the world!
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Just remember that even if life has you down..life is probably trying to push you to something better.No matter how bad life gets it'll get better ^^ just wait and it'll get better(if you don't get it..life is pushing you down to something better...sorry thought i might explain so everyone gets it :D)
This is great but I would like it if people really understood the true core of procrastination. It has a mental component. We should stop saying "if you truly want it you'd do it". We need to understand that success can look like getting out of bed that day, having a well fed family, a happy pet, a clean home, good relationships. I know that their are people who understand this I just want to say it as well. It's okay if you weren't accepted into an Ivy League school even though you tried. You can be successful without those schools. Nowadays truly loving yourself is a form of success. If you ask me it's the most important type of success
This is a good comment. Thanks for the reminder. I thought being a garbage collector in high school was a success story all by itself. That's a good job that does a lot of good in this world.
Load More Replies... I did a girls on the run in elementary even thought I hate running. At the end of the year we run a 5k but I was one of the last people in my group because I was super slow. The mom who help run it stayed with me. Its been almost ten year and I will never forget what she did.
I did that too! I really did not understand the point but it was really empowering looking back
Load More Replies... This is a really nice collection. I'm feeling a lot more positive after reading through these :)
i would love my two books to sell, it took me years to get the confidence to put my ideas out there, one is called The Riveters about the men that died building Titanic and the other is called Searching For Santa about what would happen if santa quit his job, avail on Amazon.
You wrote two books, that in itself is amazing. I am really proud of you! Please keep writing and sharing your gifts with the world!
Load More Replies... Just remember that even if life has you down..life is probably trying to push you to something better.No matter how bad life gets it'll get better ^^ just wait and it'll get better(if you don't get it..life is pushing you down to something better...sorry thought i might explain so everyone gets it :D)
