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I want to write a little bit about the importance of earnestness.
As I look back on my childhood (I'm 33 now) I see that I was earnest a lot of the time.
It seemed obvious that I would have deep interests and be fully engaged in them for their own sake.
But...
As I look back on my childhood (I'm 33 now) I see that I was earnest a lot of the time.
It seemed obvious that I would have deep interests and be fully engaged in them for their own sake.
But...
at some point that earnestness was twisted into a cause for mockery.
Being earnest was something I was shamed for.
This was particularly true at school from early adolescence. It wasn't cool to be earnest – cool was performed as a kind of detached cynicism.
That's damaging...
Being earnest was something I was shamed for.
This was particularly true at school from early adolescence. It wasn't cool to be earnest – cool was performed as a kind of detached cynicism.
That's damaging...
I was never one of the cool kids, but even still there was an imperative to minimise my not fitting in.
You can't escape the cultural 'this is water' pressure from that detached cynicism.
The effect that had was to suppress and hide whatever earnestness I had access to.
You can't escape the cultural 'this is water' pressure from that detached cynicism.
The effect that had was to suppress and hide whatever earnestness I had access to.
The problem is that this didn't end once I left school. Adult life features that same cultural force.
We may not think of it as cool in the same way, but certainly there have been times into my late 20s where an expression of earnestness was met with "oh, how naive, bless".
We may not think of it as cool in the same way, but certainly there have been times into my late 20s where an expression of earnestness was met with "oh, how naive, bless".
I've been on a journey to reclaim my earnestness, something I've only really been able to do in the last couple of years.
To be able to stand up and lean into my deep interests, my strong emotions and my grand visions — without worrying about judgement from others or myself.
To be able to stand up and lean into my deep interests, my strong emotions and my grand visions — without worrying about judgement from others or myself.
I've come to understand — not just intellectually, but at an embodied, "yes, I know this to be true" level — that it's earnestness that moves the needle, not cynicism.
It's earnestness that produces visionaries, agents of change, innovators and creatives.
But it's also scary.
It's earnestness that produces visionaries, agents of change, innovators and creatives.
But it's also scary.
As I (and most people; I am not special) was essentially punished for my earnestness, cynicism provided safety.
Because to be earnest is to share publicly what matters to you. And when you do that, some people might use that to hurt you.
I'm done with hiding though! It's dull.
Because to be earnest is to share publicly what matters to you. And when you do that, some people might use that to hurt you.
I'm done with hiding though! It's dull.
Life is so much more fun when viewed through an earnest frame, when you can be fully yourself in the most unapologetic way possible.
Not only that, but it's earnestness that will unlock the greatest potential inherent within you.
To be earnest is to turn up your voltage.
Not only that, but it's earnestness that will unlock the greatest potential inherent within you.
To be earnest is to turn up your voltage.
This thread is sort of writing itself, I didn't plan the end.
But it feels like a call to arms.
Earnest people! Arise! Gather!
Let us stand up, recognise each other and allow ourselves to be seen!
It's time to let that sense of child-like wonder out again.
It's safe now.
But it feels like a call to arms.
Earnest people! Arise! Gather!
Let us stand up, recognise each other and allow ourselves to be seen!
It's time to let that sense of child-like wonder out again.
It's safe now.
