July 29, 2009
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no more inspirational stories
One odd aspect of my persona I’ve noticed lately is that I don’t like inspirational stories.
No.
It’s not just that I don’t like them. I can’t stand them. They bore me. Sometimes they sicken me. I don’t want to hear about people who against all odds overcame amazing disabilities or hardships and worked their way up to be happy and content or confident and successful or rich and famous and all the world’s their playground. Blech. No thanks. NO MORE!
It’s not that I want all my stories to be sad or depressing. I like plenty of fantasy stories where things do work out in the end. But defeating the evil villain in a fantasy is not the same as being an object of inspiration and adoration because of how they changed their whole life around in spite of all the forces going against them or their previous weak willed nature.
This is why I don’t like reality shows. I mean sometimes I enjoy the performances, but I get fricking tired of the over dramatized glowing adoration trend they all present. I don’t want to hear for the nth millionth time that such and such super talented little kid worked their way up from poverty teaching hisself how to sing or dance or whatever and now he’s going to be famous and rich and might just win a big reality show if only YOU the viewer take it into your bleeding heart to vote for him! You wouldn’t let this poor kid down now would you? Just look into his oh so cute eyes. Isn’t his courage and determination just an INSPIRATION to us all?
BLECH!
Somebody shoot me.
It’s not that I’m not impressed by amazing feats. I am. It’s just that I’m not inspired by them. Nor do I WANT to be inspired by them. When I hear about the guy who does so much with no arms and no legs I think “that’s impressive. good for him”. But I don’t think “OH WOW WHAT AN AMAZING INSPIRATION HE IS TO US ALL!!!” There’s no music playing in my head when I hear about people who went from morbidly obese to normal weight. No slow mo scenes play when I hear about someone with physical and mental handicaps ultimately getting their PhD from Harvard. When I hear about a terminally ill patient who miraculously survives, not a single tear comes to my eye.
And most of all I DO NOT run out and want to do something. They don’t make me try harder. They don’t make me want more for myself. It doesn’t make me feel good or at peace. It doesn’t make me think wow what a great and wonderful world we live in.
The same is true when I read inspirational stories on Xanga. I acknowledge the events. Often I am even impressed by them. But I’m not inspired. Often I’m just a little bit bored as I read them.
And WORST of all sometimes not only do I get bored, I also get nitpicky. I try to find holes in the story. I try to find a way of thinking about it that doesn’t make it seem so impressive. Other times I just criticize the person’s way of thinking that makes it seeem inspirational. Or I criticize the commentators. Luckily… I do this in my head and not in comments. If I did do comments I’d have many more enemies and be on many more banned lists. As it is I feel horrible just having these thoughts, especially as I read the legions of congratulatory comments by people obviously both impressed AND inspired by the story they’e just read.
Often I feel like such an outsider. Like I think what is wrong with me? Why do these stories not inspire me the way they do everyone else? Why don’t they make me feel good too?
I don’t even WANT to ever BE an inspiration to anyone. Even if I one day did something awesome against all odds, I don’t want people thinking it was special. I just want to do normal good things. I definitely don’t need anyone looking up to me or casting me as their hero. Hard enough to live up to my own expectations for myself. I don’t need any others.
I guess I’m just must more of a cynic deep down than I seem to be. It’s true I’m positve and optimistic about a lot of things. I really do believe that most things do work out in the end and there’s rarely a reason to worry or panic.
But I also don’t think life is a fairy tale. I don’t like looking at it that way. And if it was I wouldn’t want to live in it.
Comments (7)
Wow… who rained on your parade when you were a kid?
You mean stuff like this? http://www.oddee.com/item_96763.aspx
Yeah, that kind of thing doesn’t really do anything for me either. I guess the lesson learned from “inspirational stories” is that we shouldn’t give up outright, but that’s more of a moral than a warm ‘n’ fuzzy feeling.
Wheel of Morality, turn turn turn! Tell us the lesson that we should learn!
There’s that saying… you can give a man a fish, which he’ll eat for one day, or you can teach him how to fish and eat forever. I think if anything or anybody inspires you to make personal changes, that’s probably a lot more meaningful than somebody merely doing well.
Either you are very competitive, or well traveled/learned, or you’ve achieved much overcoming great odds and other people’s piddly success stories don’t turn you on. Don’t worry, I’m much the same. Everyone else always tears up at the sad stuff, but it really doesn’t phase me. Compliment your inner-cynic and then fake being genuinely touched by stuff that doesn’t really show up on your radar of life experiences. That’s what I do.
lol, it’s funny you would think a post like this would make you sound like a jerk but coming from you it really doesn’t… must be the way you write. ^_^
I don’t like inspirational movies… I like inspirational books… and all other types of media… but movies… i hate inspirational movies… I never watch them… my roomate in college loved them! you name… i am marshell… the mighty ducks… you name it… i hate them..
i don’t know why either… they are just too much drama.
like you don’t don’t make me want to go out and change my life… *it’s probably b/c i’m lazy* maybe… just maybe they actually make me feel bad for not doing something with my life. ^_^ i kid
though i wouldn’t mind be inspirational to others… that would be nice… i guess i like that feeling special thing.
I don’t like any situation that deifies a person. Sure, Timmy might have climbed Mt. Everest, despite having two prostetic limbs, but so what? It doesn’t mean we should want to imitate his achievement, or that he was even a good person. I think it requires you do more than one great thing to be worthy of being looked up to. I feel about inspirational people more or less the same way I feel about celebrities.