“What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.” – Plutarch

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” – Joseph Campbell

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” – Who The Hell Knows

Inspirational quotes blanket every conceivable area of the World Wide Web. If they did a study on the number of inspirational quote websites versus the number of free porn websites my guess is that it would be dead even. (Note: I would be happy to lead that study.) You could not escape the multitude of inspirational quotes on the Internet even if you didn’t have Internet access because the Internet would find you and tell you that “The present is a gift.”

Now, I am all for being inspired, motivated, encouraged, stirred, and (especially) roused. Being inspired is always better than not being inspired – just not every damn day. I don’t need to be blasted in the face on the regular with quotes from Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama (You can just tell how much that guy loves to be retweeted). Yes, what they say or said about life is and was beautiful, poetic, and spot-on, but that doesn’t mean I need to read everything they said. Besides, does everything they said have to be so inspirational? Can’t I get a quote from one of these giants that states something innocuous? Maybe something like, “S’mores are called S’mores because you always want some more.”

There are just so many quotes of inspiration floating around the Internet that they become too difficult to process. It’s just too much. There is web page after web page filled “The 100 Most Inspirational Quotes Ever.” Reading through all of them and trying to latch on to even one is near impossible. It’s like trying to decide what to order at The Cheesecake Factory. Too much of anything clouds the brain, which is the exact opposite of the purpose of inspirational quotes.

If you just so happen to be a big fan of posting inspirational quotes every day, a word of advice; pump the brakes. I get that much of posting inspirational quotes is more about you than it is me, but maybe just pick one inspirational quote and stick with it? I’d much prefer an inspirational mantra to an inspirational list. Do you need a different inspirational quote every day? If you haven’t mastered the one you previously posted then the answer is a resounding “no.”

Besides, sometimes inspirational quotes can backfire. Sometimes they are just constant reminders that you could (and should) be living your life much, much better. It brings all those bad feelings about yourself that you kicked to the back of your brain – insecurity, worry, fear – and moves them right to the forefront. You don’t need all of that drudged up – that’s why you buried them in the first place.

And lets get down to brass tacks here. There are just some days where you don’t want to be inspired. There are days where you just want to lay on the couch with a blanket over you head, playing Candy Crush, listening to Tom Waits, and eating a one-pound bag of Peanut M&Ms. And that’s okay. It’s okay not to be inspired every day. The brain is a muscle and muscles need rest. So not accepting every inspirational quote that you see on the Internet as the “ultimate must-believe” might actually help you in the long run. Not every inspirational quote has to be observed, unless it is from Kanye West. Witness:

“To use is necessary. And if you can’t be used, then you’re useless.”