Unlocking Your Potential with Inspiring Motivational Speakers: The Axis of Re-Empowerment
Let's destigmatize positive affirmations not working for everyday life, motivational speakers taking their motivation with them when they leave, and being programmed "at" as a level of disempowerment and infantilization.
Let's start with two positive affirmations for found easily by Google, "I am full of joy" and "I am always learning." If you are angry and have Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) from growing up in a dysfunctional household, you are by no means full of joy. Saying that you are full of joy daily will not clear the CPTSD like mental health services will, and it will not fill you up with joy. Each individual experiences joy in their own way, in the same way that each person experiences a meaningful life differently. Some folks are more micro joy experiencers like the sunlight on trees, and others are more macro and like to think about big life experiences like the birth of a child. When we are in state of constant fight or flight there is not the let-down to allow for the peace that uplifts us to joy.
Let's look at "I am always learning." Are you? What is your extrinsic motivation for learning? When something happens to you (because stuff does happen to us) are you victimized by it, or is there immediate curiosity that there may be a lesson in the experience? Do you find life meaningful even when it doesn't feel good? Are you someone who owns the keys to their psychological empowerment and forces themselves to do something new every day like drive a different way to work, or listen to the cashier chat in line at checkout? Do you learn from the people around you? Do you understand what motivates your individual empowerment? Some folks give themselves a goal and say things like "I ask myself to read two new books a month," or have podcasts lined up for the moment they enter their commute to work. Are you one of those people? Are you in a state of learning? Telling yourself that you are, is not going to get you there. Making Realistically M(i)nimalistic changes and small steps towards learning will change your empowerment scores. It's the tools that we use that help us to make actual change mentality. This is in addition to clearing out the negative cognitions that make room for our own personal truths and positive cognitions to bubble up in our minds. The positive statement needs to come from your inner truth. The statement needs to be your own for you to believe it.
The statement or the motivation being outside of the (i)ndividual may also be why motivational speaking also has its limits for patient empowerment. Individuals need to set their own personal goals and find their own sources of meaning. Many folks need to listen again and again to their favorite speakers, to remind them of how and what to think. This is repetition from the outside. Kaballah talks about memale kol almin and sovev kol almin. Memale is the [I]nfinite's warmth and energy enveloping and being given down to us. Sovev is something from nothing, the dot, the [I]nfinite oneness of pure existence. If we use Kabbalah as a metaphor for learning, it would not make sense to have a completely sovev outlook, that one size fits all and that everyone learns the same way. We must also have a memale outlook that energy and education needs to cater to each individual's adovah i.e. purpose and personal meaning in life. ReM(i) is incredibly inspired by the disability arts communities and their work towards goal attainment in a world that works hard not to accept everyone.
On the most basic level, not all organizations are wheelchair accessible. The work created by the disability arts movement is growth oriented and works with the differing abilities rather than against. Every individual has differing levels of abilities and we can learn from collective empowerment. When we look to the self-identifying disability arts community we can learn skills to work within our own disabilities and abilities and to remain grateful for all experiences as learning and guideposts.
One way disability art explores the disability experience and its impact on disability culture is by providing a platform for disabled artists to express their unique perspective. Through their art, they share their personal experiences, challenges, and triumphs, ultimately shaping the cultural narrative surrounding disability. Common themes found in disability art include identity, accessibility, and the portrayal of disability in mainstream media. Aesthetic elements often include the use of non-traditional materials, adaptive techniques, and the incorporation of assistive devices into the artwork.
Disability art also carries a political edge, challenging societal norms and advocating for disability rights. By showcasing the talents and creativity of disabled artists, it contributes to shifting perceptions and breaking down barriers. This art form has a significant societal impact, as it encourages dialogue and raises awareness about disability issues. Within the disability rights movement, disability art serves as a powerful tool for activism and social change. Overall, disability art serves as a catalyst for broader conversations about disability culture and the representation of disabled individuals in the arts.
Cultivating a culture of empowerment requires strategies such as fostering open communication, learning about everyone's abilities and disabilities, providing opportunities for skill development and growth, and recognizing and rewarding initiative and innovation. By creating an environment that encourages autonomy, collaboration, and creativity, organizations can empower their employees to be more engaged and productive. This ultimately leads to a more dynamic and thriving culture.
Clarity is the first step of self-awareness and involves understanding the key areas of life that are most important to the individual. It is important for individuals to be clear about what they want to achieve in order to create a plan for how they want to move forward in their development projects. Motivational authors should have tools, steps and workshop handouts to people identify their goals, passions, values and aspirations in order to gain a better understanding of where their personal motivation lies.
Support is the second step and is focused on providing people with the environment they need to reach their goals. Motivational speakers should have resources such as mentors, life coaches, and peers available to those who may need an extra boost of confidence or a reminder that they can succeed. Working through any roadblocks or obstacles can be done with support from trusted advisors from many walks of life and people who understand their challenges.
Motivational speakers are themselves influential people motivated by personal experiences. We all have lived experiences and the resilience skills, with powerful messages, that come from said lived experience. This is one of the reasons that autobiographies, biographies and histories are so fascinating!!! We can learn from the (i)ndividual's lived experience and then mold the education personally, or recognize a spark of ourselves in the lesson.
Autonomy is the third step and is focused on helping individuals take ownership of their goals and progress. Professional speakers should have techniques available to help people build self-efficacy, find their personal flavor of positive self-talk, and self-compassion. It’s important to recognize accomplishments, both big and small, in order to feel empowered as success accumulates over time. Autonomy is key. Self talk is individualized and can include laughing, bragging and words of encouragement when something is difficult.
The book "The Will to Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl explores the concept of meaning in life from a logotherapy perspective. Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, delves into the experiences of suffering and joy. To practice logotherapy, you can follow these simple steps and focus on maintaining good mental health, managing stress, and finding motivation.
Create something.
Build relationships.
Find purpose in pain.
Understand and accept that life is unfair.
Embrace the freedom to find meaning.
Focus on others.
Accept the worst.
An empirical study into the Myth of the Life Plan by Ms. Lazcano shows that imperfect training for material-wealth-as-happiness continues to be instilled in our youth. The wealth-as-happiness myth has been sold broadly in the elder care industry, for example, where elders are placed in a passive modality. In a Long Term Care Facility or an assisted living there is no purpose and no action to be taken by the late-stage senior which facilitates the decline of life skills. It becomes even worse when the programs are directed at the elders rather than engaging their choice and help in planning.
Evidence-based researched showed that elders in LTC who had autonomy over the care of a living plant, had better physical and mental health outcomes, as well as lived longer healthier lives. Multiple institutes report seniors in LTC facilities have symptoms that are consistent with major depression. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported seniors accounting for nearly 20% of suicide deaths. For any other age group the gravity of these depression statistics would necessitate a social worker’s intervention but because of agism, healthcare believes that these folks are nearing end of life. The statistics for depression in teens and young adults are just as staggering.
LTC Quality of Life (QOL) measurements with regard to late-stage seniors have been generalized to communicate namely control over physical functions and other institutionalized needs; with over 11 different models across LTC facilities, there is no agreed upon design. The LTC standard language measurements of QOL also include familial support, autonomy for the late-stage senior, with the likely negative affects of institutionalized living. QOL for late-stage seniors has been redefined at The Centre for Health Promotion (CHP) with a model of Being, Belonging and Becoming, components that relate to people regardless of age (Raphael et al., 1995).
The Being, Belonging and Becoming model speaks to ReM(i)'s operational concept of time and the personal time-lines in relationship to past-tense attachments and present-tense wellbeing and happiness. If there is no being, (i)ndividuals can remain caught in the past and exhibit personality disorder like symptoms. Multiple evidence based measurements for happiness such as the GQ-6 six-item measure for dispositional gratitude could be adapted any population with regards to their abilities in the present-tense. ReM(i) conceptualizes QOL as Being, Belonging and Becoming rather than the limitations that agism and status biases place on our society. Engaging folks in their own change is necessary in the present-tense to encourage self-care emotionally through engaging in all life transition choices rather than primarily being cared for physically.
Possibly an empirical study like PO Bronson’s What should I do with my life? could be adapted with the word “now” (Bronson, 2005.) In Bronson’s book he interviews successful people in the early-stages of life who changed the trajectory of their daily lives in order to achieve inner peace and happiness. This research proposes that late-stage seniors can also break with medical model of social aging patterns in order to create present-tense happiness for themselves with the assistance of a social worker.
Depression among seniors in LTC is the known factor. The above Gratitude Scales adapted for seniors and a good sample would conclude if re-empowerment and present-tense autonomy are the methods for true happiness and life satisfaction. It is the present-tense ability to engage the idea of one’s own mortality that allows for the current life to be lived. It is the moral obligation of social workers to address the known depression of late-stage seniors by alternative methods that engage the late-stage senior in autonomous present-tense action.
In conclusion, the research question remains the same: Can late-stage seniors learn to live in the present-tense with purpose? Will this purpose increase happiness? Is it attachment to the past and not being present that creates distress and unhappiness?
