Doing only what everyone else tells you to do is no way to go through life. Instead, it’s important to develop the confidence to embrace your true passions—and pursue them without embarrassment or guilt. Just because society tells you something is cool doesn’t make it so.Jake Okechukwu Effoduh, a Ph.D. candidate at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, recentlywent viralon X (formerly Twitter) when he asked everyone for their thoughts on what they’re convinced people only pretend to enjoy. Camping, situationships, trips to Miami, and oysters are just the tip of the iceberg. Scroll down to see what everyone else had to share.Bored Pandareached out to Jake and he was kind enough to share a few thoughts with us. Read on for his insights!Image credits:effoduThis post may includeaffiliate links.
Doing only what everyone else tells you to do is no way to go through life. Instead, it’s important to develop the confidence to embrace your true passions—and pursue them without embarrassment or guilt. Just because society tells you something is cool doesn’t make it so.
Jake Okechukwu Effoduh, a Ph.D. candidate at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, recentlywent viralon X (formerly Twitter) when he asked everyone for their thoughts on what they’re convinced people only pretend to enjoy. Camping, situationships, trips to Miami, and oysters are just the tip of the iceberg. Scroll down to see what everyone else had to share.
Bored Pandareached out to Jake and he was kind enough to share a few thoughts with us. Read on for his insights!
Image credits:effodu
This post may includeaffiliate links.
We were interested to get Jake’s thoughts on the massive popularity of his online thread. “I wonder why it resonated with so many people. I guess many people have thought about the question too!” he told Bored Panda.“I didn’t expect the tweet to get any attention, so seeing 38M views is shocking,” he said.Meanwhile, we were curious as to why people have such different opinions on various foods and activities. Here’s what the author of the viral thread had to say: “As they say: ‘One person’s meat is another person’s poison.'”
We were interested to get Jake’s thoughts on the massive popularity of his online thread. “I wonder why it resonated with so many people. I guess many people have thought about the question too!” he told Bored Panda.
“I didn’t expect the tweet to get any attention, so seeing 38M views is shocking,” he said.
Meanwhile, we were curious as to why people have such different opinions on various foods and activities. Here’s what the author of the viral thread had to say: “As they say: ‘One person’s meat is another person’s poison.'”
Though he has gone viral on Twitter, Jake doesn’t consider himself a content creator. Instead, he used the platform to keep up with the news and to share his insights with others.
“I use Twitter to catch up with what’s happening in the world and share my thoughts sometimes,” he told Bored Panda.
If we sit down and think hard about our goals and priorities, then we can come up with a list of things that we genuinely enjoy doing. This might mean different things to everyone. Some, for instance, might be passionate about art and writing, while others might want to focus on music and dance.
However, it’s because our social lives are so important that we might be overly worried about our reputations and that others like us. Instead of being 100% authentic and true to ourselves, our aims, and our values, we may adapt our behavior to fit in better. This might mean copying our social group’s interests to leave a positive impression, whether it’s suddenly trying to enjoy camping or some other activity.Here’s the thing, though: it’s perfectly fine to try out new and unexpected activities. Embracing a sense of adventure and surprise, and living curiously, are all wonderful things. However, pursuing specific activities just because you’re scared your friends and acquaintances might judge you otherwise isn’t healthy.
However, it’s because our social lives are so important that we might be overly worried about our reputations and that others like us. Instead of being 100% authentic and true to ourselves, our aims, and our values, we may adapt our behavior to fit in better. This might mean copying our social group’s interests to leave a positive impression, whether it’s suddenly trying to enjoy camping or some other activity.
Here’s the thing, though: it’s perfectly fine to try out new and unexpected activities. Embracing a sense of adventure and surprise, and living curiously, are all wonderful things. However, pursuing specific activities just because you’re scared your friends and acquaintances might judge you otherwise isn’t healthy.
It’s perfectly fine to say ‘no’ if you’ve tried, say, golf, but it never really clicked. On the flip side, if you did enjoy the activity like your friends do, then that’s wonderful, you’re on the same page. The point is, friendship—true friendship—means setting and enforcing boundaries, and feeling comfortable enough to be honest about what you enjoy and absolutely do not. So you might not like camping—that’s fine, you’ll bond with your pals over hiking or cooking.
Verywell Mind points out thatherd mentality, also known as mob or crowd mentality, can be observed everywhere we go. That’s how fashion trends, investment decisions and political affiliations can spread: people set aside their personal judgments and individuality in exchange for adopting the beliefs of the majority.
The best way to fight back against herd mentality is to cultivate more self-awareness. In other words, you have to take an honest look at your beliefs and (dis)likes. Be open with yourself about how much your peers affect how you act. Then, it all comes down to making the decision to be more authentic in the future… or to continue going with the flow.
It also helps if you become more skeptical of all trends and popular opinions. Try to see through the hype and spot the nuances in situations. The more you develop your critical thinking skills, the more you’ll be able to protect your individuality. And though human beings crave certainty and stability, you can slowly develop your confidence if you start to embrace being uncomfortable going against the crowd. Though you shouldn’t be a contrarian just to stand out!
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