I ran across this article today, If Adults Won’t Grow Up, Nobody Will by Peggy Noonan. While the article references Harvey Weinstein, Mark Zuckerburg, Lara Ingraham and even David Hogg I want to key in on a general theme of being introspective.
A lot of the media we consume is noise. To get something to bubble up you only have a few levers you can pull. One of those levers is to raise the volume. This is down by ratcheting up the rehtoric. Make it as incindeiary as possible. This drive the clicks and then the comment section takes care of the rest. Many folks don't even read the articles/posts and will go straight to the comments. This is where the money is made whether it is actual cash money or just the personal aggrandizement that comes from viral posts.
My approach to social media is no different than others. I share information that is important to me. Things that I post matter to me. This blog is where I share my thoughts, recollections and ideas. Luckily for me I do not get much traffic. While I am pretty open on the socials. I rarely get into comment threads unless either the topic matters or the person who posted matters.
The top of the article has this,
It has to do with refusing to be fully adult and neglecting to take on, each day, the maturity, grace and self-discipline that are expected of adults and part of their job. That job is to pattern adulthood for those coming up, who are looking, always, for How To Do It—how to be a fully formed man, a fully grown woman.
I have been posting about looking inward. I think that this is a skill that is being lost. Maybe we never had it. I posted not too long ago that Self Awareness is my Superpower and I mean it. I know my own mind. I know what the triggers are that get at me.
This has come at a great personal cost to me. To understand myself is to take stock of who and what I allow around me. It has made me reevaluate how I engage with people. It has made me quieter and louder at the same time. Not contributing to the noise means that I can put more energy into the things that matter.
I think I will stop there and ask you to do the hard work of introspection. Look inward and consider why you do what you do. This will help you to do the amazing work that you want to do.
Go GO GO!