Forget it’s New Year, it’s a new decade. And for those who thought the last one was a complete shit show, it’s a shot at redemption.
Arguably the most significant change this past decade has been our perception—the means through which we view and perceive the world, which — more often than not — is through a polarising lens.
While social media may not have been born in the past decade, it sure as shit matured, operating as a vessel for a new wave of hate, outrage, and division, with many highlights, not limited to:
Trump
Brexit
Racism
Veganism
Millenials
Fake news
Entitlement
Gender wars
Mass shootings
Greta Thunberg
Climate Change
The Blame game
White Supremacy
The Gamechangers
Woke/angry people
Intersectional Feminism
Indifference is seen as siding with the enemy and as close to blasphemy as one can get. So for better or worse (I’d say worse), everything listed seemed to polarise and divide us, giving rise to many heated debates online that, more often than not, mattered diddly squat.
And in many ways, it’s conquered us all. Because we allowed it to enrage us, and with every comment or social share, we provided sparks to a flame that would otherwise burnout. We gave relevance to those we wish remained irrelevant.
We’ve had it all. On a massive scale. All magnified through the lens of social media.
The amount of hate we have for each other is absurd. And just like a Genie rubs his bottle, we twiddle our thumbs and play with our phone. But our wish is never granted, so we get pissed off and launch an attack. All from the comfort of a phone.
I’m not saying there aren’t problems in this world. I’m not saying we shouldn’t take steps and devote a little energy to fixing them. I’m also not saying we wouldn’t be better off if some of these fuckers dropped dead.
I’m saying it’s time to reign it in a little. It’s time to stop focussing all our energy on worldly problems and all the overhyped bullshit put out there by the media to enrage us and provide relevance to those that should remain irrelevant.
And maybe start to reevaluate how we interact with our phones and other tools that did not exist ten years ago that are likely causing us more harm than good.
It’s time to get back to basics — if you want this decade to be better than the last, then a shift in focus is a must.
Here are just a few little tweaks that could have major implications for you this coming decade. Consider what might apply to you and ignore the rest:
- Limit your exposure to the news
That includes newsfeeds. We gravitate towards controversy, so controversy on a platter is what we’re served.
Some you’ll love. Some you’ll hate. It’s all designed to piss someone off. It’s up to you if you want to engage in it or not. But often — by engaging — you are just adding fuel to the fire.
It’s effortless to be infuriated by someone’s behaviour, and lose days, months, or years of your life in the process.
How does this make your life better? How does it make the world better? It doesn’t. Getting in a rage on Social Media because you don’t agree is a complete waste of time, so put whatever barriers you need to put in place to prevent yourself from doing it in the first place.
- Forget vanity metrics
Validation has become the number one metric we use to define our worth—a metric also used by the president of the United States.
We have been programmed to obsess over our online presence to the point that it takes priority over real life. And it’s making a lot of people miserable.
Works for some. For most, it doesn’t. But it’s in the interest of “some” for “most” to believe it will or can work for all.
You’ve just got to get honest with yourself. Nobody else. And if this has you by the balls, then ask yourself what you can do about it?
- Embrace the power of community
The teenies could go down in history as the decade of loneliness. I’m not sure who’d write the lesson, but they’d have a very compelling case.
We have been seduced by the Internet to find our or passion, turn it into a business, and make the world a better place.
Admirable. However, more often than not, we’re flying solo with a point to prove and a big fat ego in the driving seat.
We haven’t been told few give a fuck about our passion and most secretly want us to fail.
Today’s work is often isolating and a contributing factor to the loneliness epidemic.
We’re supposed to work together. To find people with common goals, team up, and embrace camaraderie.
Whether it’s work or play, don’t forget just how powerful a good community is and how much better your life can be when you’re in one.
- Focus more on relationships
It’s crazy to have to say this, but nothing is more important than our real-life relationships.
Yet, the evidence suggests we’ve neglected much of our meaningful relationships and replaced them with our phones or those we see as a means to an end.
I read a story about this Russian dude who has fallen in love with his sex doll. Takes her (or it) everywhere, and plans to marry her. He even paid for her plastic surgery because she’s known to get jealous. True story.
I’m not sure what I’m trying to say here, but you might find yourself fucking a robot too if you don’t start paying more attention to those around you.
We are social beings busy building an isolated world disguised as a connected one.
Everything serves as a distraction stripping our attention from what’s been proven time and again to be the most significant contributing factor for a happy and healthy life.
It has been the decade of madness where a tiny little robot has seduced us and taken over our lives.
One decade is enough. You’ve got ten more years on the horizon to achieve great things. Anything is possible, and while work and dreams and goals and all that shit matters, it often serves as nothing more than a distraction for that which matters most, which can be summed up in one word: love.
What can I say, I’m a romantic.
The end.
