Lately, when I have been surfing through YouTube, trying to find interesting videos to help me waste time, I have stumbled upon some motivational videos.

Motivational content creators lure you in with clickbait titles like: “the number one secret to success”, or “the advice that got me from rags to riches”.

And the clickbait is effective, these types of videos generate a lot of views.

When they clickbait viewers into thinking these status icons, like a Tom Brady, are telling you their secrets to becoming successful, its enticing. It really makes you want to watch the video.

if you watch a few of these videos, you learn pretty quickly that their not actually sharing “secrets” to success (obviously). Because there aren’t any (obviously).

The message in the actual content of these videos is very clear, and concise. It’s all of the cliché mantras for self improvement like “outwork everyone”, “dont listen to naysayers”, or “dream big”.

These three mantras practically summarize the entire premise of all motivational content.

These mantras aren’t necessarily bad pieces of advice, I guess.

These motivational content creators would have you believe that if you could just “work hard”, “dream big” you could drastically improve your quality of life, and be living more like the highly accomplished celebrities featured in these types of videos.

My issue with this message is that it contributes to the false sense of entitlement that’s so frequent with young people in todays day and age.

The concept that you should aspire to be famous, or a billionaire, and that level of status is what’s missing in your life, is absolute bullshit. It’s a trick.

For 99.9% of people, these goals are not only unattainable, but undesirable.

There’s a reason most people aren’t spending 60 hours a week working towards becoming the next billionaire, trust me its not because they aren’t watching enough motivational videos.

status icons like Tom Brady, or Elon Musk, aren’t normal. Working hard enough to be like them is not normal. You dont want to be like them. You cant be like them.

What gets highlighted in motivational content is the spoils of the success of somebody like Tom Brady. They show you all of the fame, all of the fortune, and all of the admiration, but none of the sacrifice.

For 99.9% of people, if they could make all of the sacrifices that Tom Brady makes to be like Tom Brady, they wouldn’t want to be like Tom Brady. Most people just aren’t that driven, and that’s fine.

Most of us are just normal. There are more positives than negatives to just being “normal”, or “average”.

For views, motivation content creators would have you believe that you should aspire to be special, and if you work hard enough, you can be. its a toxic message.

A lot of people feel they are missing something, its how we are wired. It’s easy to brain wash people with the glamour of elite status. It looks so exciting compared to your life.

This sort of mindset prevents people from working towards what’s best for them. What is actually realistic. It creates a sense of entitlement because your not living like the celebrities featured in these videos. Although you could be, if only you could “work hard”, “dream big”.

Everyone wants to think that their special, your not, its fine. A lot of those celebrities that you look up to, that are actually “special”, are even more miserable than you.

Being normal is underrated. Don’t watch motivational videos.