Philosophy done - 15 June

Every hobby need not be a skill you master, every cook does not need to be 'instagrammable', every travel need not be smooth or efficient. Every breath need not be productive. The overwhelming representation of extraordinary, of perfection,  in the media makes one feel inadequate. So when the date is not magical, when the kid is not hilarious, when the dress is not breathtaking, the feeling of failure is omniscient. 

Imagine a bell curve. We usually talk about the tails. No one discusses in the middle,  the average.  Sadly, the majority of us are average. There is nothing wrong with being part of the majority. The media however insists that majority is an epic fail, no one cares about the central elements of the bell curve. The sublime message is that the world will never value you if you are one of the crowd. The world needs the crowd to stand out of the crowd, but if you are part of the crowd, your life has amounts to nothing. You have to be extraordinary, to be special. 

Imagine your parents doting on you since you arrived into the world. Your extended family loves you and makes you feel special. Then you leave the nest, go out in the world and the the world does not give a fuck. A person shifts from the tail of the curve, from being the special one to the central bunch where you are average. The spotlight shifts and you either accept your new tag or chase the adulation. 

So how do I accept this new reality? Change what you value and break the bell curve. the kid who ran away with his bat when she was bowled had it right. you can always walk away. You don't have to have an opinion. you can like something, hate something and not give a fuck about something. all three are acceptable responses. Knowing what matters to you will help decide your metric for success. If sleeping 8 hrs is important, then make it the measure of your extraordinary-ness. If your 'value' is to get adequate sleep, when you compare yourself with people who stay up late and the people who are early risers, you disrespect yourself. You discredit yourself. Stick to your values. 

Now comes the secret, consistency. Making your sleep a priority, consistently, is boring. This is ordinary. This is the key. Fiber and veggies are boring but key for a healthy heart. The healthy way of life takes you to 'extraordinary' level. Embrace the ordinary, the boring, the mundane to live a 'fuller' life. 

The world only showcases extraordinary. What are stories but patterns interrupted. The interruption makes it to the media, the dramatic shift is what we consume. It is pandering at best, toxic at worst. When the only trait highlighted/celebrated is being extraordinary, the world gets in the feedback loop of feeling like a failure for not being awesome and feeling like a failure for feeling like a failure for a stupid issue. 

Closing idea for a fairly confusing writeup is courage. Those 3 seconds where you recognize the evil and want to sever the ties with the narrative, they count. Close your eyes and allow yourself the courage to let go, to except your values and live. How the world perceives you is but white noise. Let it pass by.