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Superheroes have always been amazing at influencing people’s lives and well-being. Whether that is with hope, courage, or even just a form of escapism, their ideologies always tend to resonate with people. For me, I like to actively implement their ideologies in my life, which is super cheesy, but it gets to impact and improve my life a lot! This time, that impact has been within my productivity. During times like these, a decrease in productivity is something a lot of us struggle with. However, I watched Man Of Steel the other day and it gave me a certain mindset to live by. This mindset has increased my productivity and can also help you improve your productivity and well-being.

As mentioned before, one of the downsides of times like these and lockdown is that it’s easy to not stick to your routine. Or even, not have a routine at all. For me, my screentime has increased a lot and I’m not always doing the thing I need to do. I’m still productive, but I could be doing way better. The fact that this lockdown is getting the best of us and that we’re not doing much is something a lot of us have trouble with. But then, that motivation kicks in. Enough of this laziness. We’re going to change! We’re going to spend less time on social media, we’re gonna get our stuff together and we’re going to be productive. That mentality works. For a period, we’re back on track (or if you’re like me, I don’t even reach the back-on-track part at times). But after a while, we fall back into our old habits.

Then the motivation kicks in again. However, this cycle of feeling motivated and making change, yet still falling back into your old habits keeps continuing. And when that does, it gets a bit annoying. The moment I start taking measures and tell myself that I’m gonna do it differently this time and spend less time on social media, yet I fall back again, I start to not believe in myself anymore. I start to feel like I’m stuck and that those 180 shifts in mentality just become a repeated story. It starts to feel hopeless. 

That’s where this ideology from Man Of Steel comes in that really helped me. Superman generally is a symbol of hope. Most of the time, hope means that things are going to be alright. However, Man Of Steel‘s definition of hope is a little different from that. When Clark meets his real father, Jor-El, he gets sent on a mission to inspire humanity. Jor-El tells Clark that he can give the people of Earth hope. He elaborates by explaining what kind of hope.

Russel Crowe's Jor-El and Henry Cavill's Kal-El / Clark Kent
‘Man of Steel’ (2013) | Warner Brothers

 The symbol of the House of El means hope. Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief of the potential of every person to be a force for goodThat’s what you can bring them. ” 

After being stuck in that cycle of unproductivity and hopelessness, this quote was really helpful for me. As I mentioned earlier, those 180 shifts in mentality yet still failing started to make me feel hopeless. But instead of taking measures or beating ourselves up, we can start the day with hope. We can start the day with the belief that we do have the potential to be a force for good, and do the things we need to do. The potential to work on that essay, not give in to distractions, and look back at the end of the day to say, “Wow, I kinda did a great job today.” That is when real change can occur.

We have this potential. Everyone does. However, it all starts with hope. It all starts with believing in that potential of yourself that can be productive. It starts with the visualization that today is gonna be a great day where we’re being the best version of ourselves. A day of getting the job done and feeling amazing. That is what we need to be hopeful for.

The moment I started my days with a sense of hope and believing in that potential, that is when my productivity increased. It also even stayed consistent. My screentime went down, I got my main tasks done and had more time for other things I enjoy. You can apply this mindset too and be hopeful for the same results. However, hope isn’t the only thing that helped me. Nor is it the complete solution to increasing productivity. The flight scene of Man Of Steel is something that aided to that. When Clark is about to test his powers, he hears Jor-El’s inspiring words about fulfilling his true strength.

Clark's First Flight
‘Man of Steel’ (2013) | Warner Brothers

You’ve grown stronger here than I have ever could have imagined. The only way to know how strong, is to keep testing your limits.

This is in the context of Superman’s powers, but to me, it’s still motivating. Even though we have hope, there are still going to be moments of resistance and moments of our limits. But by overcoming those limits and resisting those urges to procrastinate or get distracted, we can truly know how much potential we have. Overcoming those limits and pushing through is just a way of unlocking your full potential. However, don’t be too hard on yourself and give yourself a break. Find a balance!

That is how I got motivated and how you can be motivated by Man Of Steel! Motivation from superheroes is amazing, but if you want to successfully reach your goals you also need good habits to stay consistent. Check out this video from my YouTube channel to learn a great way to stick to your habits!

What are moments in comic book movies that have motivated you the most? Let us know! And check out The Cinema Spot on Twitter (@TheCinemaSpot) & Instagram (@thecinemaspot_) or check out our brand new Facebook page (@TheCinemaSpotFB)! Like this post? Take a look at some of our latest posts on our Home page!

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