What if it’s Cringe?
Some days back, I came across a social media funny post of how you just never want to write or sound cringe on platforms like LinkedIn. It was relatable on so many levels because it's not just LinkedIn which could make you feel all eyes are on you. Even posting a simple insta story becomes daunting when you know people will be watching it and most of those people might even be your friends.
I am writing this thinking I don't want this to be cringe or too sappy or too unrealistically motivational....there are a bunch of don't want to's here though I can't come up with what I do want it to be.
There is a concept/expression called Neti Neti in Sanskrit which basically means "Not this not that." A method of negating everything that you are not till you reach the answers of what you are and want to be. Following this method, the answers that I discover is I just want it to feel good to me or to anyone who watches or reads whatever I create. Perhaps it’s not just social media anymore, it’s what we want even in both our physical and virtual lives.
The intentions of what we want are all pure and good but not so much realistic. There are loopholes in what we want because even if we try to achieve it, we won’t be able to. It’s only a matter of time that we come across people who will not share our thought process. It’s only a matter of time we come across people who will question you on your thoughts or actions. It’s only just a matter of time that someone will find you cringey.
If other people’s opinions actually stop you from doing something, then the only difference between you and those who question you is that they trust their ways more than you do yours. It will eventually stop bothering when we realize that everyone is different and you are too. Fortunately, we haven’t yet arrived in the robotic era and so to expect everyone to align with your thoughts is just foolish.
Maybe someday, when we're all grown up, we'll look back and realize we could've handled things differently. But hey, at least we won't be kicking ourselves for not giving it a shot.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain
