Movies That Motivate | The Adventures of Motivatorman!: February 2020

Sunday, February 23, 2020

Tip#1184: You Are Not Alone, Part 3 - 8 Self Care Tips - Sonic the Hedgehog

This past week was a really good one! It included many types of therapies that helped manage my winter depression (SAD) while giving me so much hope and positivity for the upcoming Spring season! It’s a week where I felt less of the loneliness that comes with the winter blues. Here’s a list in case these 8 Self Care Tips inspire you to explore them further…

1) Mindfulness Therapy Group: New monthly program of meditation practice: Read more
2) New Law of Attraction tips on YouTube for Reality Transurfing: Aaron Doughty and Quazi Johir
3) Walking therapy (daily for sunlight/vitamin D and exercise)
4) Increasing magnesium dosage for depression & sleep (recommended 400mg daily): Read more
5) Art therapy: I added new inspiring video clip of Jim Carrey and his art therapy on my new series: Celebrities for Mental Health
6) Attended a special event promoting Annie Sloan’s famous Chalk Paint and painting workshops: Read more
7) Food therapy with delicious, shared meals: See foodie photos on my Instagram
8) Music therapy at a special private home performance of a Toronto Symphony Orchestra members followed by a full show and TSO orchestra the next evening called Majestic Bruckner at Roy Thomson Hall

The live musical performances capped off a rejuvenating week which included meeting many new people and potential new friends and work colleagues! As I’ve written many times before, social interactions are extremely helpful in maintaining my mental health especially with SAD.

There were times when I felt so blessed knowing these social events were helping re-energize me during a season I just want to stay indoors and hibernate. Being alone at home doing nothing during the winter blues can sometimes feel good and yet it is so important to be with people and simply celebrate life, learning, sharing and just having fun!

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

The action-adventure comedy film, Sonic the Hedgehog, is based on the video game franchise and is about an extraterrestrial named Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) living on Earth and teams up with his new friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) to battle the evil Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). This fun and hilarious story also stars Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, and Neal McDonough.
See: movie trailer
Watch now: Amazon Prime Video

I immediately identified with Sonic when the film showed how lonely and alone he was on our planet. It’s that emotional connection that hooked me into enjoying his journey on learning to interact with humans, learn about friendship and finally enjoy all that life has to offer. Sonic even makes a bucket list his new friend Tom helps him with!

Jim Carrey’s character Dr. Robotnik is also a joy because it’s another of his zany comedic characters on screen! This character also shows off an array of very cool looking futuristic technology while trying to capture Sonic. I highly recommend this film for it’s sense of fun and laughter and life lessons for enjoying life to the fullest with people we love!

Sometimes life can feel lonely and you figure out ways how to cope with being alone. And yet the power of social interactions and friendships can elevate the joys of sharing what life has to offer! Movies can remind us of all the fun we can have on our planet. Find some of that shared joy today!

Related Tips:
Tip#594: You Are Not Alone, Part 1 - Henry Poole Is Here
Tip#1071: You Are Not Alone, Part 2 - The Shape of Water
Tip#1184: You Are Not Alone, Part 3 - 8 Self Care Tips - Sonic the Hedgehog
Tip#1171: The Power of Art Therapy, Music Therapy & More!

SEE EMMANUEL's:

• Top Movies as Inspirational Learning Tools: www.Movies for Motivation.com

• Award-winning Illustrations: www.EmmanuelLopez.com

• Social Media Consulting Services: www.SocialMediaWingman.com

Remember How Movies Can Help You:
A) Entertain & Escape
B) Re-energize & Release
C) Inspiration & Motivation

Emmanuel Lopez-Motivatorman
Award-winning Illustrator | Movie Blogger | Speaker | Foodie
Discover Movies As Inspirational Learning Tools!
See website: www.MoviesForMotivation.com

© Emmanuel Lopez 2020

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Tip#1183: Deal with Unexpected Changes, Pt. 4 - Parasite

This winter has been challenging and yet I've been able to deal with unexpected changes with some creative thinking and perseverance (see previous post). For example, I’ve had insomnia for over two weeks, seasonal depression has been at an all time high and I’ve been dealing with painful impingement in both shoulders since the Christmas holidays. I read that shoulder impingement, in my case, was the result of overuse in using my iPhone, MacBook and iMac computer.

The day after the 92nd Academy Awards I watched a press conference with Jojo Rabbit director and screenplay writer Taika Waititi where he suddenly complained about Apple’s MacBook keyboards causing similar shoulder pains that I was dealing with! It was an amazing synchronistic moment for me and brought me some peace of mind that this shoulder problem is shared by others.

Read more: Taika Waititi slams Apple’s MacBook keyboards after winning first Oscar

Jojo Rabbit didn’t win the Best Picture Award but that honor went to Parasite that also made Oscar history by being the first non-english speaking film to win. This prompted me to finally write about Parasite because when I first saw it I was overwhelmed and had mixed feelings and I didn’t know what to write about. So I will do my best now without any spoilers!

Parasite (2019)

The dark comedy thriller film, Parasite, is about the Kim family (Song Kang-ho, Choi Woo-shik, Jang Hye-jin and Park So-dam) and the Park family (Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jung Ji-so, Jung Hyeon-jun and Lee Jung-eun). That’s all I’m writing because I highly recommend you see it knowing as little as possible. Part of its brilliance is the unexpected directions the story takes.

Watch now: Amazon Prime

Like many others, I felt this was a cinematic masterpiece on multiple levels. It speaks about the lifestyles and homes of lower and higher class families and much more. And the standout life lessons for me were the creative and strategic thinking skills of the Kims, the lower class family.

It was entertaining, compelling and hilarious to watch each of the Kims in action. But the moment the consequences unravel is part of the uniqueness of the film and also where I found the surprises progressively disturbing. It’s something I am still figuring out why. In the end I highly recommend you see this film and just go with the flow.

Life is full of unexpected problems, pains and directions it will take us on. And this can be reflected in the films we see where we witness characters using their skills, creative and strategic thinking to get them out of their problems. They can show us what to do and what not to do. The choice is ours in the end. Make it a positive choice today!

Related Tips:
Tip#871: Deal with Unexpected Changes, Pt. 3 - Before We Go

SEE EMMANUEL's:

• Top Movies as Inspirational Learning Tools: www.Movies for Motivation.com

• Award-winning Illustrations: www.EmmanuelLopez.com

• Social Media Consulting Services: www.SocialMediaWingman.com

Remember How Movies Can Help You:
A) Entertain & Escape
B) Re-energize & Release
C) Inspiration & Motivation

Sunday, February 09, 2020

Tip#1182: Power of Perseverance, Part 2 - Ford v Ferrari

The past two weeks have been brutal because of winter depression (SAD) symptoms that have been extremely high and also having insomnia every night. I’ve been house sitting at a friend’s place and usually have problems sleeping in other people’s homes and beds so I’ve been sleep deprived. But I’ve been persevering with my indestructible optimism that I will find relief and solutions!

For example, I’ve been using social media like Facebook to ask others about their experiences with melatonin supplements as a sleep aid and received some amazing advice and information links.

Magnesium came up as a key factor needed to be taken with melatonin supplements and later received a post of a friend’s unique tip of boiling banana peels for its magnesium, a natural muscle relaxant, to make a tea for sleep that intrigued me.

Read More: How To Make Banana Tea For Restful Sleep

A few days later I posted a photo on Facebook from my morning walk in bright sunshine that helped my seasonal depression and received another amazing comment that synchronistically mentioned magnesium as treating depression better than psychiatric drugs. Over-the-counter magnesium tablets had significantly improved depression in just two weeks. Thus magnesium therapy was what I wanted to explore.

Read More: Scientist Say Magnesium Treats Depression Better Than Psychiatric Drugs

Someone else also shared a fascinating link to an article on the Japanese practice of ‘forest bathing’ that’s also called eco-therapy. The subjects in this study showed significantly reduced hostility and depression scores, coupled with increased liveliness, after exposure to trees.

Read More: The Japanese practice of ‘forest bathing’ is scientifically proven to improve your health

On top of all these wonderful Facebook comments, I received an invitation to go for a therapy walk in High Park here in Toronto. I was feeling really blessed and uplifted by all this support and it was simply the result of my persevering in finding answers to a problem I needed solving. This made me think of a movie I recently saw that was filled with inspirational examples of perseverance, resilience, indestructible optimism and so much more!

Ford v Ferrari (2019)

The sports drama film, Ford v Ferrari, is based on the true story of American automotive visionary designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and fearless British race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) come together to build a revolutionary vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. to compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. Also starring Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon in supporting roles.
See: movie trailer
Watch now: Amazon Prime

Based on the trailers I really didn’t have an interest in seeing this film. But I trusted my gut and was totally blown away by the perfect balance of entertainment and inspirational life lessons brimming throughout this movie! Aside from exciting racing sequences and the fantastic performances by Bale and Damon there were outstanding lessons their characters demonstrated for leadership, teamwork and friendship. I highly recommend seeing this for a multitude of inspiring themes listed here!

Inspiring Themes:
• Passion
• Perseverance
• Resilience
• Indestructible Optimism
• Supportive Relationships
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Creative Thinking
• Strategic Thinking

Amazing true stories and real-life heroes can inspire each of us to persevere in our own challenges in life. They can remind us that we can achieve our goals with the love and support of others around us. And when these life lessons shine bright in an entertaining movie it can further elevate the positive emotional energy within us. They can fuel our passion, perseverance and indestructible optimism through the darkest of times!

Related Tips:
Tip#158: Power of Perseverance - Battlestar Galactica 2004
Tip#1178: Real-Life Heroes in Movies Inspire, Part 6 - Bombshell
Tip#1167: Remember Your Indestructible Optimism, Part 9 - Dolomite Is My Name

SEE EMMANUEL's:

• Top Movies as Inspirational Learning Tools: www.Movies for Motivation.com

• Award-winning Illustrations: www.EmmanuelLopez.com

• Social Media Consulting Services: www.SocialMediaWingman.com

Remember How Movies Can Help You:
A) Entertain & Escape
B) Re-energize & Release
C) Inspiration & Motivation

Sunday, February 02, 2020

Tip#1181: Learning through Movies, Part 7 – The Assistant

Blue Monday was the name given to the third day in January claimed to be the most depressing day of the year. While on January 29, 2020 Bell Let’s Talk Day commenced. I heard somewhere that this winter period was chosen for this day because it had the highest suicide rates in North America. Regardless, all I know is I definitely struggle more intensely with winter depression (SAD) at this time every year.

And yet what helps me cope is by being creative with raising awareness that people are not alone in their mental health pain. I do this through the writing of this weekly “Movies that Motivate” blog along with daily posts on my social media channels. I simply share tools and methods that work for me in coping with winter depression as well as clinical depression.

I recently launched a series of twelve video clips of interviews with celebrities that inspired me with their courage and openness dealing with mental health issues. Here are the first three:

Click to watch: Celebrities for Mental Health #1 - Sophie Turner

Click to watch: Celebrities for Mental Health #2 - Dwayne Johnson

Click to watch: Celebrities for Mental Health #3 - JK Rowling

Unfortunately I stayed silent for years about my suffering and looking back now I realize it cost me so much time in living a fuller life. I just didn’t have any resources to teach me more of the mental illnesses I was dealing with. Movies, thankfully, became a powerful method and therapy for getting me through countless dark periods. I recently saw a press screening of a film that not only helped me through severe seasonal depression but educated me on an important workplace issue.

The Assistant (2020)

The drama film, The Assistant, is a day in the life of, Jane (Julia Garner), a film production assistant to a powerful executive and grows increasingly aware of the insidious abuses of her boss and co-workers. This is a gripping, disturbing, slow burn thriller also stars Matthew Macfadyen, Kristine Froseth, Makenzie Leigh, Noah Robbins, Dagmara Domińczyk and Purva Bedi.
See: movie trailer
Watch now: Amazon Prime

I was riveted to this movie! There are so many silent sequences in this film that end up speaking volumes about Jane’s workplace and the horrible, secret systems of employees and managers covering up issues that mirror the real life Harvey Weinstein case. Garner is fantastic in her role while director Kitty Green masterfully tells a riveting story just by having us quietly observe Jane’s daily routine. In the end the film delivers high awareness to issues of workplace exploitation, its perpetrators and the people complicit in covering up these crimes.

Movies can become powerful vehicles for raising awareness to sensitive issues some people face in their work and lives. They can show us that we are not alone in our struggles or suffering. They can also teach us the values of what is right and what is wrong. Ultimately they can remind us of the kind of person we choose to be each and every day through the actions or ignore to take.

Related Tips:
Tip#1089: The Power in Silence, Part 2 - A Quiet Place
Tip#1168: Learning through Movies, Part 6 – Modern Love – Jojo Rabbit

SEE EMMANUEL's:

• Top Movies as Inspirational Learning Tools: www.Movies for Motivation.com

• Award-winning Illustrations: www.EmmanuelLopez.com

• Social Media Consulting Services: www.SocialMediaWingman.com

Remember How Movies Can Help You:
A) Entertain & Escape
B) Re-energize & Release
C) Inspiration & Motivation