Toxic Motivation and Positivity | how to not Fall Prey to it
Toxic Motivation
Toxic motivation and the hustle culture are becoming something more than just a community.
You must not become sad because you have to keep the positive vibe only. You must not quit, because quitting is for losers.
Work 24/7 for that thing you love. If it didn’t succeed, work harder. Hustle and hustle, because that’s what it takes to reach where you want to be.
It may seem like it’s motivation, but it’s not. The world of toxic motivation has changed the real concept of what it takes to succeed.
There are two sides to toxic motivation:
• The YouTuber or the Instagram public figure who posts content telling you to work harder, but procrastinate a lot, and the consumer who’s out there working so hard thinking it’s the key.
Both have a problem. For sure, if you want to succeed in that business with many competitors, you’ve to work more than many.
If you want to be the first in your class, you will have to be willing to understand, study, and learn more than anyone in your class.
Working hard is a part of the puzzle. Working hard for the right thing is what it takes because your direction is more important than your speed.
If you decided to open a motivational channel on YouTube, but there are hundreds of motivational channels in different languages on YouTube.
What is the unique content that you are going to produce that will stand out and make your channel successful? I’ve seen YouTube channels with over 100 videos and aren’t successful and channels with less than 40 videos and are successful.
When you enter the world of toxic motivation, you won’t notice your fault easily because your self-help gurus are uploading 3 videos a day, telling you they have the hustle muscle, work harder, it takes time, don’t give up.
Every time you listen to that podcast, watch that motivational video, or read that quote. It gives you a good feeling that you’re a part of a secret community or better people who are willing to improve themselves.
Toxic motivation blinds you and causes burn-out, which is an emotional or physical state of energy depletion. It’s after one year or more that you realize you made no progress at all.
Toxic motivation equalizes people’s situation. The guru uploads 3 videos a day saying the same BS. Work harder. Hustle 24/7. But he’s procrastinating.
Toxic Positivity
It’s not okay to not feel okay. Why waste time on sadness when you can enjoy time for happiness? For every minute you waste in sadness, you lose 60 seconds for happiness.
People who say this kind of BS didn’t experience what pain is. Lose someone special in your life, then tell yourself this kind of BS. For sure, it’s not okay to not feel okay for a long time.
But it’s completely okay to mourn when you lose someone or be sad. Life is a mixture of both good and bad.
The self-help industry
Every time you feel bad, you listen to a self-help podcast, and it makes you feel good.
Every time you lose your motivation, you watch a motivational video and it gives you instant motivation.
It feels like these people are adding value and trying to make your life better, but when it comes it an industry worth billions, there’s a problem.
The U.S. self-help industry is estimated to be $14.0 billion by 2025, with an annual growth of 6.0%.
The ugly truth is that you are valuable to the industry, unhappy, unmotivated, and uncomfortable than you are comfortable and happy.
The goal is to get you hooked on the next product after completing one. When you’ve finished reading how to win friends and influence people, it feels like you’ve made progress and discovered a secret, so you go on with reading another book, purchasing a course, or listening to a self-help podcast.
Every time you consume self-help material, it gives you a feeling of progress, which is known as Action Faking.
Action faking is a fatal type of procrastination because you trick yourself into thinking that you’re making progress when you aren’t.
Also, read: Why Motivation doesn’t last long and how to deal with it
Conclusion
I was a victim and promoted toxic motivation and positivity. Honestly, it doesn’t help. Be aware of yourself and what you want.
You aren’t working hard for the sake of working hard or trying to become successful for the sake of success or trying to look happy for the sake of happiness.
Maybe you’re working hard to succeed at that thing you’re passionate about or getting yourself out of a situation you don’t like.
Always remember why you are doing that thing. Don’t fall into the trap of action faking because it does more harm than good.
