The definition of cool has its roots in the schoolyard, and is the childish way to describe the superior students out of the bunch. Whatever the hell that meant back in the day, the same cool feeling is what leaves so many people insecure about constantly having to fit in today.
We live in the age of YOLO, FOMO and whatever other four letter acronym we decide to come up with. We’re crippled by the fear of not fitting in, not being involved and not being seen as cool – and it has left so many people so desperate and thirsty for attention that it has become both something pathetic and hilarious to look at. What we are referring to is people trying way too hard to be cool.
You see it everywhere and anywhere you go. From the nightclubs you frequent, to the places you have dinner and to those closest to you. Everyone is trying too hard to be someone they are not so they can be accepted by society -- we have built a façade of who we wish to appear to be so that we can fit into something that doesn’t really exist because our perception and insecurities have created it. In short, we have all become children in the schoolyard, fighting over who is cooler than whom.
It’s actually quite funny, if you look around and see how fake people actually are and how hard they try in order to make it look like they belong – you can recognize how pathetic it really is.
Instead of trying to fit in and be someone you are not, you should actually try finding yourself and being yourself around other people who appreciate you for who you are. But so many people forget that and try to be someone they are not.
Being down to earth and humble has been overtaken by being egotistical, prideful, fake and insecure. Being unique is no longer seen as doing the right thing, when in fact it is the right thing to do. You should never try to be someone that others want you to be. You should stay true to yourself and your values...and that is where so many people go wrong.
Everyone is trying to impress everyone else -- and it makes no one happy. People lack an authenticity and use smoke and mirrors to fool others into seeing them a certain way – at the risk of losing themselves. When you have this pathetic cycle of a dick-measuring contest in a constant rank race with your neighbor, you fall into a life that is based in superficiality.
Everyone is wearing a mask…and once you take that mask off, there’s nothing underneath because you’ve lost yourself in this posturing, because you were too preoccupied with appearing cool and being politically correct.
The sad part is that society hasn’t realized that being cool is not even cool anymore. If you think back to the schoolyard or even to high school and college, one of the common themes that you will notice is that being cool never lasts forever and it generally means anticlimax. What will last forever is being someone that is different, someone that has character and is not just like every other asshole you meet.
Trying to be cool turns you into a wannabe essentially, hoping to fit in and trying way too hard to do so. If those around you can't accept you for who you are, then maybe you should reconsider whom your real friends are. The last thing you should ever try to do is to be someone you are not or someone that is perceived as right in society at the expense of yourself.
What this world forgets is that individuals are all different, we are all unique and we all have our own perception that will never be the same as someone else’s. Instead of allowing us to flourish as individuals and encouraging us to think for ourselves, it is trying to sell us the feeling of being cool to make us all into the same idiots who are having a dick measuring contests when we don't even have dicks.
People waste way too much time and energy building a house of cards around their images and what they want it to look like to other peoples’ eyes. They are afraid to be judged and they are too insecure to be outcasts in our world, but if they actually took that same time and energy to focus and build themselves, they would realize that they are far better than anyone that likes to classify themselves as cool.
In short, fitting in will get you nowhere in life and it will make you a pedestrian -- because you become like everyone else and start competing with them in matters that have no relevance in this world. It’s those that don't fit in and go against the tide that get the most out of life and don't look like pathetic idiots trying to be something they are not.
There are far greater things to worry about, spend your time and energy on than simply having your fear of missing out or your insecurity of not fitting in to get in the way. Work on yourself, work on your life and ignore the traps that life may present to you.
You have your own perception, you know right from wrong and you know exactly what you want to do and what you don’t. Base your decisions on those aspects rather than what society says you should do.
Preston Waters | Elite.
