Human beings have evolved to prioritize society’s feedback. Worrying about what others think is in our DNA. This was great when being excluded from the tribe was a literal death sentence. It’s still great when you’re in a team setting because it forces you to check yourself while working with others and pull your own weight toward a united aim.
It’s not so great when you’re trying to break free from some of the molds we’re accustomed to while pursuing your own thing. In this case, anxiety around what others think of you and your work is a cancer. Yeah, in some instances it can be helpful, but most of the time it just creates unnecessary stress and leads you in the wrong direction. Spending time wondering and worrying about what others think of you and what you’re doing distracts you and pulls you off target.
We’re connected now more than ever, but it seems like a whole lot of this connection is based off deceit. The connection can be invaluable or it can be crippling, it all depends on how you leverage it. If you’re catering your content to get likes or present a façade, you’re slippin’. You should be using these tools to show the world who you are and what your life is like, not to present some false image or illusion. Raw is real, and real is good.
I think too many people are operating on the basis that a little heart or a thumbs up on some app actually means something. These ‘interactions’ represent nothing more than the least amount of effort an individual could possibly exert to acknowledge a piece of content, that’s it. I’ll take 20 likes over 200 likes if it means that I get to be the real me and show the world what I’m really about, not what they’d like me to be about.
I think this phenomenon is part of a larger issue – creating yourself for someone else. A lot of people are just looking to impress others. They need to present an image that everything is perfect in their world and that they’ve got it all together. In reality, no one’s life is perfect — everyone is a work in progress.
Yeah, working out and getting in shape will make you more attractive to the opposite sex (or same sex if you swing that way), but using that as your primary motivation creates an empty foundation. Anything you build on top of that void will be weak, unstable, and prone to collapsing in on itself.
Get in shape because it will make you a better person, because it will make you healthier and happier. The same concept applies to competing, making money, creating content, building relationships, etc. You should do these things because you want to win, not because you want others to see you as a winner.
Everyone’s got their own problems, their own life, and their own goals. No one worth anything is going to spend time or energy criticizing what you’re doing with your life. If you can provide value to them or help them out, awesome. If they don’t dig your stuff, so what?
Stop worrying about your image and do your own thing, for your own sake.
