People are so petty:

People are so petty. It’s a real problem because it holds them back. It doesn’t allow them to be as happy if they’re constantly holding grudges. Getting into a tit for tat fight over something so small is so irrelevant. Not worth your time. Tbh, people have every right to be as petty as they want because ultimately it’s only going to hurt them. It’ll stop them from seeing people objectively because they’re already biased by what’s happened.

First impressions matter a lot but after talking to someone for so long, you would think they would have a good impression. That being said, friends break up and couples break up over such small things after being together for decades. People really have too much pride and are not willing to swallow their ego to admit their wrong. The problem is then both people suffer in silence because either party doesn’t want to admit they were wrong.

Which is sad, especially when you have people who have known each other for so long. People definitely change, don’t get me wrong, but most of the time it’s just a miscommunication.

Miscommunication, what a word. People would be so much better off if they didn’t assume stuff and just explained/asked what they were actually meant to say. People misconstrue everything all the time and unless your sitting in the other person’s head, which you can’t, you’ll never know their true intention. ‘Talking to strangers’. Malcolm Gladwell wrote about this whole topic. We suck at understanding what people are thinking or who they are. We judge based on what we see in their facial expression and how they act, but we have no idea what they’re thinking or what their intentions are.

It’s tough because miscommunications happen all the time and often when they’re resolved, everyone is sitting there thinking the other person was wrong the whole time, when really it was a misunderstanding. I’ve seen it in my own house too. People being quick to judge. It’s so hard to change their mind as well because people are so set in their ways. They think that all the experiences they’ve had up till now will tell them exactly what someone else is thinking, but that’s not true.

People could be thinking and intending wildly different things in the current moment. Sure, people have patterns of behaviour that you notice over time. Like if they are always a dick to the waiter, and constantly talking about themselves, then they must be a rude person. But if someone were quiet, just watching, learning, sitting, waiting, most people would think that person is an introvert. That’s not true though because context means everything. What if they’re in a really uncomfortable circumstance and can’t be themselves? I feel like that’s most people in social situations.

This is the other thing most people just assume. They feel like they know exactly the context for why that person made that decision and jump to conclusions before understanding the whole situation. For example, if someone murdered someone, most people would say that person is a bad person. But what if they just saw his or her sister raped and murdered by someone. Then is that murdered justified? I don’t know if it’s justified but I understand why they would kill that person. The context in that situation matters a lot, but without it, how are you supposed to come to a reasonable conclusion? You can’t. The other issue though is you never really have the full context. You can infer what the circumstances were but unless you were in that exact situation, you don’t know what you would do.

People are complicated. They have different reasons and intentions for doing anything. Incentives are what dictate how someone acts and once you can understand their incentives, you can understand them a bit better. Doesn’t mean you understand them fully, but it gives you a good idea of why they’re acting the way they are, or what they’re trying to accomplish. But people don’t have time for those conversations to truly understand someone on a much deeper level than what they see.

It also feels like in today’s environment, everyone is hiding something from someone. We’re all stuck in our own heads presenting this idea to the world of this perfect version of ourselves, but it’s such a flaw. Saw something today on Instagram about how Tik Tok is causing young girls, as young as 8 talking about their diet and waist size. WTF!! This is so messed up. Because young girls see their ‘role models’ who are the Tik Tokers super skinny and having fun dancing, they think they have to be the same.

This is one of the bigger issues I have with certain social media apps, particularly pertaining to children. They’re not fully developed to understand what’s happening to them. You could argue adults don’t know the manipulation that is taking place with them too, but kids are completely different. They have no experience in the world and understanding people. Now that they’re introduced to technology and social media apps like Tik Tok and Snapchat at such a young age, they’re entire world is wrapped up in those things.

This is also why the mental health pandemic that’s going on right now is only going to get worse. People are inside their own heads and mindlessly scrolling through these apps to get a dopamine hit. But they’re ruining their attention and their self-esteem. Their impression of themselves is so low because they’re constantly comparing themselves to what they see on a screen. They don’t understand that it’s fake. That person spent all day editing photos and lighting and putting on their makeup and spending an hour filming their dance. But most kids think that those people are just like that all the time.

To me it’s just as bad for social media influencers as well because you’re constantly chasing the rush of producing content. So that people will still pay attention to you. Checking your phone to see if your post got x number of likes and as soon as you post a photo, constantly checking to see how it’s done. We all do it too. But then once we see it’s what we expected or not, we just feel like crap. Why did we even pay attention to it in the first place? We’ve become so enamoured with other people’s opinions of us that we refuse to put up stuff that is our authentic self. We’re afraid of judgement or not getting enough likes or whatever stupid reason we tell ourselves why it matters. It doesn’t.

Social media likes were such a toxic invention. The guy on the ‘Social dilemma’ who invented the like button on Instagram or Twitter, can’t remember which one, talked about how sad he is that he created that. It is ruining people’s idea of themselves and it’s creating this toxic environment where we think the world exists digitally. It doesn’t.

Yes certain components are all done online, and society is definitely shifting in that direction, but life still happens in the real world. You still have to look at yourself in the mirror every morning, you still have to use the bathroom and eat food. That can’t be replaced through a phone, and yet we pay so much attention to this thing in our hands.

A lot of it is escapism for sure, to experience and see and be in a different part of the world, but all that does when you see it is make you feel down about it because you’re not there. Do you ever get happy when you see someone on vacation? Hell no. You get jealous just like everyone else. ‘Why is that person there? Damn I wish I could be there.’ It inspires jealously, not happiness.

Yet most people are chasing this game. Look at me, look how great I am, look how great my life is. Meanwhile they’re just as sad looking at their phone at someone else’s vacation pic as you are. Don’t get me wrong though, some people post super positive content that’s awesome.

Like Joe Wicks. I’m so happy I discovered that guy because you can tell he’s living his authentic life. He doesn’t care what people think. He just wants to be positive, spread positivity in the world and get people in shape. It’s awesome to see him doing what he’s done and how many people he’s helped, not only physically but mentally.

He’s a prime example of how just doing your thing, believing in yourself, being patient and spreading positivity in the world comes back in droves. When you showcase light in the world, more light will be reflected back on you. If you showcase darkness and are pessimistic about the world, that’s all you’ll see. You won’t see the amazing things that are going on around you every day.

Simple stuff like your stomach sounds. Most people don’t stop and think about it after a meal but when you’re stomach is making sounds and undergoing peristalsis and all these muscles in your intestines are moving your food in your body while these little proteins and enzymes are digesting and extracting all the nutrients from the food. That shit is awesome (no pun intended). We don’t stop and think about that stuff. We’re so focused on the past or future, both of which don’t exist, that we forget to focus on the present. To experience the world with all 5 senses. To take ourselves out of the digital world and into the real world.

The real world truly is exceptional. I wish more people could see the beauty in living on this planet because it has so much to offer.