Discussion Thoughts on motivational speakers?

[iglooblimp]

For the fee they charge, I would rather just go to a therapy session.

Have their speeches ever worked for you?

 

[TheNorthernSilence]

They just irritate me and make me feel bad about myself. I think there's no hope for me anymore. And I can't stand for all that artificial pro-life crap.

 

[locusdelicti]

There's a buck to be made telling people there's nothing the matter with them and that there's hope.

 

[TAW122]

I don't find them to be particularly useful, probably partly due to the fact that I'm an objective realist and look at things based on reality and evidence based rather than just emotion alone. That isn't to say that I don't have emotions nor that emotions have no impact (they do, but I'm more objective than subjective). Also, I loathe and despise platitudes, which most of these speakers tend to throw around a lot. Also, therapists and counselors are just useless to me since talking about my problems alone won't solve shit for me. They also don't really answer my objective questions with objective answers, but rather just throw around the question or give the run around (waste time) until the hour is up. It's not just one or a few, but most of them, so I'm done with therapy and counseling.

Motivational speakers are generally useless for people like me, and this video further explains it.

 

[iglooblimp]

I don't find them to be particularly useful, probably partly due to the fact that I'm an objective realist and look at things based on reality and evidence based rather than just emotion alone. That isn't to say that I don't have emotions nor that emotions have no impact (they do, but I'm more objective than subjective). Also, I loathe and despise platitudes, which most of these speakers tend to throw around a lot. Also, therapists and counselors are just useless to me since talking about my problems alone won't solve shit for me. They also don't really answer my objective questions with objective answers, but rather just throw around the question or give the run around (waste time) until the hour is up. It's not just one or a few, but most of them, so I'm done with therapy and counseling.

Motivational speakers are generally useless for people like me, and this video further explains it.

Great video. Perfectly sums it up.
Another thing is that even if you do have the motivation, the system is broken, and it only benefits certain people. So even if you do keep on trying, your efforts are essentially futile (if not, you might get somewhere but after countless, grueling attempts to "stay motivated").

 

[Pulpit2018]

There's a buck to be made telling people there's nothing the matter with them and that there's hope.

Good ol' Rust Cohle.

 

[AhG]

That they're really good at talking and convincing other people to believe their bullsbit for money, are my thoughts on it.

 

[FTL.Wanderer]

For the fee they charge, I would rather just go to a therapy session.

Have their speeches ever worked for you?

My problem with motivational speakers is the BS they often spew. Years ago I had to attend this lecture for medical residents (2nd year post grads in clinical rotations). The motivational speaker was a nationally renowned clinical psychologist. He addressed the high rates of burn-out and suicide among physicians. In the middle of the lecture he asked, "Who told you you're depressed?" He went on to say depression is "just a state of mind." This at a medical center empowered to physically restrain people because of their state of mind. Someone from the audience bravely put forth that they felt emotionally overwhelmed because of their triple social group identity. The motivational speaker countered with, "I know lots of people (in city X) who are ..." This was a patent lie b/c these residents were all living and working in a small, socially homogeneous part of the US. It made me very angry that the motivational speaker could (1) contradict his own discipline's official position on something the experts consider to be objectively true, and (2) openly lie because it was convenient for him. Why, then, should listeners trust motivational speakers if the content of their speeches isn't verifiably true and doesn't put the legitimate needs of the audience ahead of the showmanship of the speaker or the monetary concerns of the sponsoring agency?

Sorry I'm so negative. I'm sick of artifice. Authenticity and objectivity would motivate me a lot more than the glamor of most of these flashy feel-good-and-smile speakers.

 

[Quinlor]

"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end." John Lennon. Priest quotes in Daredevil season 3 ep10.

 

[waived]

Clearly motivation and positivity being just some of the identities peddled and purchased on the psychology marketplace, and a buck being a single form of currency.

 

[TreatmentDidntWork]

I think it's all a load of bullshit.

My fundamental problem, the lack of a desire to continue living, can not be solved by "motivation" or "pulling myself up by the bootstraps".

 

[anuglymale]

Fuck them

 

[Kyrok]

I assume most of them live in vans down by the river.

 

[FTL.Wanderer]

I assume most of them live in vans down by the river.

??

My fundamental problem, the lack of a desire to continue living, can not be solved by "motivation" or "pulling myself up by the bootstraps".

This x 100.

 

[Kyrok]

@FTL.Wanderer.

 

[BabyYoda]

They're just con artists exploiting vulnerable people for money. Most of the time they spout the same recycled ideas over and over again and people think they're completely original. Those ideas are not necessarily proven by any studies.

 

[Emily_Numb]

I went to a rather expensive 4 day Tony Robbins seminar last year and walked out after less than half a day. It is absolutely not intended for anyone who suffers from any form of anxiety or mental illness. You have to be open to being brainwashed and embrace the 'fake it 'til you make it' mantra. I can see how it might help someone who is already fairly motivated and driven, but I am naturally very skeptical and found its all to be a lot of pomp.

 

[TheOA]

An Arabic quote, "Sunshine all the time makes a desert". It is challenging for me to deal with situations and people who seem off-balanced. Many motivational speakers I know seem ignorant about the benefits and purpose of acknowledging trauma and learning how to process it rather than covering or dismissing it. Constantly shifting one's perspective to "remain positive" is a coping mechanism that can, and does, backfire when a person finds themselves ill-equipped to deal with the negative aspects of life.

But, there will always be people who need the services motivational speakers offer so I don't knock their hustle.