Cleverness is a social plague that often does more damage than good. We forget about kindness and positivity when we're too busy trying to out savvy the next person. Perhaps it's a symptom of social media and unlimited connectivity, but I think we can do something about it with a conscious choice.
I remember growing up and having good days and bad. One day I figured out that if I consciously chose to have a good day at school and with my friends, chances are I'd have a good day. My parents remind me of this every now and then, which is why I remember, but I've seen similar theories repeated over the years. Often people might say that you can "make your day", or "be the change".
Research has shown a correlation between physical behaviour and mental health. To paraphrase more than I probably should, the idea is that you can change your behaviour, which in turn will change your mental understanding. It's proof that you really can fake it, 'til you make it.
Maybe it sounds a bit backwards, but it's also a large part of treatments like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. It's nothing new to align behaviour with well-being, but I think that sometimes we forget what behaviour we want to embody.
For a little bit of context; it's currently E3 season, which if you don't know, is one of the biggest events in the gaming industry. It's where all the big companies announce new projects and hardware, to get us all excited about what's coming over the next year. It's not E3 that has me thinking about changing behaviour, but the annual reactions to it online.
There's a huge part of the video gaming audience who take it upon themselves to make snarky jokes and comments about E3 presentations. Usually this means I put my head in the sand because I hate being surrounded by so much negativity, even if it's all intended to be good fun. Whether you like it or not, it's hard to avoid the fact that every year E3 inspires nerds all around the world to compete for who can make the edgiest post on the internet. It's exhausting.
When did everyone start competing to be the greatest edge-lord around? It's amplified during big events like E3, but I see it all the time where so many people are jumping at the chance to say something clever online. I'll even throw my hat in the ring to say that I've probably been caught up in the hype sometimes, but now I can't stand a second of it.
Mostly because the entire cycle is based on a foundation of negativity. No matter how harmless the snarks and jabs are, they're still making fun of someone and laughing about it. There's an air of superiority that comes with teasing, and I've always hated anyone placing themselves above another person for any reason at all.
For some reason, we've evolved into a society that accepts a certain level of teasing and bullying. We've adopted an inward view on personality and charisma, over the external context of humility and character. There are ups and downs to everything in life, but I wonder why we're so excited to be mean and make fun of others.
Like I said, I've been guilty of it myself in a lot of ways, but the point of recognising our own flaws is to then be able to make changes accordingly. It always confuses me when someone states something like "oh I know I'm really arrogant", but then does nothing to change the fact. All that ends up saying to me is that they know they're a mean person, and they're happy about it. I'm kind of done with people being okay with being mean.
So I'm trying to improve my own behaviour to encourage a positive state of mind and shape the world into one I want to be in. It's actually as simple as changing the record and recognising unwanted behaviour before it happens. I still catch myself about to post a snarky comment and end up deleting it instead. I still post crap every now and then that is only meant to blow off steam, but achieves nothing productive, let along positive. It's a work in progress, but it's already turning my reality into a more pleasant place to be.
Thus, my wish is for anyone reading this to think about their own world and how much kindness and positivity they are contributing to it. Notice when you want to have a bitch about something, and change it into a compliment instead. Focus on enjoying events like E3, instead of picking apart everything that's wrong about it. Spend more time with joyful purpose than clever cynicism. Create happiness.
The only time we ever see change or make change, is when we get off our butts and do something about it. Personally I'd rather live in a happier world of kindness and joy, so why not make a conscious effort to create more every day. It doesn't take long to make your day better, so take the time to remind yourself why you get out of bed in the morning.
I doubt we want to waste our lives bickering and patting each other on the back for mean zingers at someone else's expense. I'd rather meet my maker with a smile on my face and full heart of laughter and love. You can never give too much love, and kindness never hurt anyone.
Be excellent.