Saturday, November 19, 2011
10 Insanely Awesome Inspirational Manifestos
Lifehack: There are certain messages that serve to get you “back to one” when you find you’re going off course. Whether you use tools such as a manifesto, a personal mission statement, a vision board or a list similar to Benjamin Franklin’s “13 Virtues”, taking the time to identify with one and then keeping it handy is worthwhile – and perhaps even imperative.
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These are a pretty interesting collection of manifestos. It's interesting how they are presented to the internet world, mostly being various topographies. The passive aggressive one is definitely a favorite, with "Get back to work," being the core message. Now I should probably follow this advice and get back to other work.
Although these are all great messages, the ones that seem the best are the ones that go beneath the surface and are not full of as many cliches. That is the biggest problem with these manifestos: the fact that they can seem cliche, yet true, turns me away and I find them less useful. The final two are seen/heard less frequently and seem best. The simplistic "focus" and the final one which is harsh yet realistic are great and more effective than the usual "be your own hero" and "friends are more important than money."
I originally was going to only read this because I thought it was going to be really silly and cliche. Some of them were, but there were others that were really great. I think that many motivational phrases and sayings need to just be blunt and tell things that people know and just maybe dont want to admit to themselves. Like 'If you dont have enough time, stop watching TV' I know a lot of people who say they dont have enough time and who spend an hour or two or more watching TV. I also like 'Try more, suck less, shut up and get back to work'. Because even I need to wake myself up sometimes and just get over something and do it, life is hard and unfair, so just get over it and work. I like things like this it helps put things in perspective.
Part of me wants to approach this list with cyncism and pessimism, the other part with admiration and interest. So I'll try to do both.
One day, during a particularly hard time in my life, I printed the words "Be Matt." and taped them around my monitor at work. I suppose I created my own manifesto. "Be Matt" meant do everything Matt was supposed to do, at that time it was customer service and sales but it also meant be a good co-worker, friend, and responsible young-adult. My manifesto demanded that I do everything that was expected of me. But the choice of words, essentially the manifestation of my own existences, was cyclical and didn't really mean anything. They were just words, words that mean nothing. Most manifestos, at least, are like that. Personal philosophies that can apply to anything. Well if they apply to everything what's the manifestation of that ideology? Is it everything? Or is it nothing?
"Do something that scares you" shows up twice on this list in two different manifestos. There's a reason behind that. There's a philosophy behind the thinking, it can be more than just words. But the words alone are not enough. There's needs to be a moral, personal, and social justifcation behind this encouragement. If there is, then a manifesto means something. If not, it's not different than the "hang in there" cat. Cute but not much beyond that. If you have that justification already in your course of action do you need something outlining that? I don't think so. Sometimes it's a simple as "Be Matt." Perhaps all these manifestos should read "Manifest yourself." That's a much bigger call to action and more challenging.
I enjoy likes looking at these, various manifestos from around the internet, and seeing all these little bits of information, tiny pieces of advice that have appeared over and over again in our lives, and I think many of us try to strive for, but we're not always able to succeed in. I think that while many of them are cliches, as Sophia noted, I tend to take the Randy Pausch attitude towards cliches, which is the reason they are cliches, and the reason that they've be around long enough to become that, is that very often those cliches are true, and you find evidence of them a lot in real life. However, I think there's a lot to be taken away from Matt's comment as well. There will always be manifestos, and self-help guides, and etc. to try and help you get through life, and you can take your advice. The more important thing to do, and the thing that will really help you in the long run, is to take that advice, and put your own spin on it. To go and make it your own. You take the tools that other people give you, and you find a way to implement them, and make it work for yourself. That can be true for manifestos, but really that should be true of many things we do throughout life. You have to find your own path through it, and your own way to put on a spin on things and remain your own unique self.
I love reading these manifestos and other inspirational advice found all over the internet, but I too have both and optimistic and critical view of them. As inspirational and great as they are, I generally read them when I’m just wasting time on sites like Facebook, Stumbleupon, and Reddit. I find it depressingly ironic to read things instructing us to go out and enjoy life when I am sitting in from of my computer doing just the opposite. It is almost as if we send more time thinking and making personal resolutions about all of the potentials of life, while not actually doing anything about it.
With that bit of cynicism out of the way, my favorite manifestos on here were the second one (Everybodys Free To Wear Sunscreen) and the eighth one (The Expert Enough Manifesto). The second manifesto reminds us that life is short and we need to experience absolutely everything we can while we are young and can full enjoy it, though it was a bit contradictory because it also warns us to be health conscious and preserve our bodies. The eighth manifesto contained the phrase “Life is an experiment” which is something that I really believe to be true. Experiences teach us so much more that simply reading about things, and why not experience everything we possibly can while we have the time? We should treat life more like and adventure and stop taking everything too seriously.
These are all fantastic. I never think about looking at these sorts of things when I'm stressed or upset, though. I suppose I should. I think it might be more meaningful to create a personal manifesto, though. There are parts of each of these that really speak to me, and parts of each of these that I know I really need to listen to. So perhaps it's a good idea to read other peoples' manifestos and use parts and pieces of them to make your own so that you can always see what YOU need to see. I guess you have to know yourself pretty well to do that sort of thing, but maybe in making your own manifesto you might learn things about yourself along the way. It's important to alway look for inspiration, because you never know what you might hear or see or read that could lead to your next great idea. When I'm feeling down I usually just remind myself when I get to go home or start a count-down until I graduate. That's probably a bit counter-active, but it usually works for me. I also like to remind myself of all the positive things in life. These manifestos all touch on life's beauty, which is probably because of their most important function: To remind us that life is a blessing and that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. I think all of us around here need that remind every once in a while.
What I find powerful about examining these manifestos is that I draw what I individually need from them as I am scanning through them. Not every phrase in each manifesto resonates or applies directly to me. Like Shannon mentioned, it would be a great project to create your own manifesto. But it would also be interesting to create different manifestos for different times in your life. Have one for the work, one for home, etc...
Granted, this may not be the point of a manifesto. The manifesto that spoke to me the most was the "Passive Agressive" Manifesto. In our current schooling environment, there are many that see their situation as the best/worst, and let everyone know about that. I think it would be interesting to post that manifesto around and see if some of the complaining died down. Maybe then the manifesto itself would be a topic of conversation. But I think it is a very amusing way to keep people down to earth and moving forward.
I enjoyed reading and listening to these manifestos. Now I feel all inspired to go do something although I am not really sure what. Many of these did say similar things. I must say that my favorite one was the short video. It may have been because I am an audio learner but I feel like what it said had more of an impact to me than the other ones.
A lot of these seem like a collection of vague platitudes that aren't really that inspirational; there's not a ton of ground-breaking sentiments in these manifestos. While the Passive Aggressive Manifesto made me laugh, anyone who actually needs to hear it is not going to be responsive to it.
We all look at these sorts of things and automatically think that they are corny. Yes, that is totally true, they are totally corny. But, sometimes it's helpful to just take in something that has a positive message. There's a reason that cliches are cliches. They are all around us and they are often true. A little pick me up is not a bad thing, sometimes it's just what you need to get yourself motivated and feeling a little bit better.
When I first saw this, I though it would be 10 manifestos by famous people/groups. More specifically, manifestos by successful rebellious political figures. Needless to say, I was wrong. I find these very interesting. If I hadn’t read the article first, I don't think I would have labeled some of these as manifestos. After looking up “manifesto,” they all make a lot of sense. I had thought of a manifesto as more of a political statement than a statement of personal belief.
The manifestos that have given me the most inspiration are the ones that are simple to read yet complex to understand. In other words, it must have more meaning than words. The reason for this, I feel, because I will need to remember it off the top of my head in order to follow it, and yet be able to contemplate its depth and meaning whenever I want to. The manifestos listed in this article truly are awesome and I really enjoyed reading them. However, now my brain hurts a little. I feel overwhelmed by all the information, and when I try to contemplate them, it’s alike I’m listening to the radio and the stations keep changing. Maybe a manifesto should be like they say a good wine. It should be enjoyed at the onset of drinking it in, yet leave a lingering, deep taste that makes you remember it.
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