When I was a kid, I thought growing up would be fun — no school, homework, and obeying orders from parents and teachers.
Little did I know that growing up came with its own problems. It is nothing like I had imagined. Sometimes, I also think about how naive I was to feel like that when I was young.
Most of us were raised in a society where we had to please everyone—friends, family, teachers, or colleagues. We thought that was the way to go if we wanted better relationships and to survive in this world. I did the same. When someone got upset with me, it got into my head. I tried everything to make the situation better.
Social media made things worse. Comments, DMs, followings, likes, and sh*t like that got into our heads and caused more issues that shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
I was in the same cycle of trying to please people (offline and online) to get along with them. I did that for thirty years of my life.
As soon as I turned 30, it was as if I had experienced a magical moment in my life because I started giving less f*cks. Pleasing people was the least of my priorities. And if something were to happen as a consequence, my response was, “screw it.”
This might sound insensitive and inhumane. However, life taught me that caring too much and living in fear kept me from being myself. I could never be free and live life the way I wanted.
Turning thirty changed everything. I became wiser and began living life the way I wanted. I’m thirty-two now and having the best time of my life.
All the knowledge I have collected in my lifetime has made me less concerned about people and more focused on the things I care about. Right now, my family is the most essential thing in my life. I don’t really care about what people are saying or what’s happening in the world outside because these things aren’t in my control.
Social media is the least of my problems because I have understood that nothing is faker than people posting about their so-called happy moments. The reality is different. Nobody is always happy, and understanding a person by looking at their social media doesn’t work.
It makes me sad. People are obsessed with social media — posting about their great moments when, in reality, their lives are miserable.
Living with the “screw it” mentality has made my life 10x better. As I said, it has given me the freedom to do things my way and not care about things out of my control.
Why would I want to waste my time and energy on something that doesn’t make me happy and fulfilled? Why would I give the slightest f*ck about something entirely out of my control?
I won’t.
And if you are living in fear and trying to please everyone, you, my friend, have a serious problem.
Sometimes, I wonder if I had the same mentality as I do now during my 20s. I would have been unstoppable. All those years, I lived in fear, inside my comfort zone, and trying to please everyone would have been different.
Better late than never. I can now conquer fear and doubt because I take responsibility for what happens to me. Just because I don’t care much doesn’t mean I ignore every problem I have. No. I overcome my problems with everything I have and take responsibility for them because, at the end of the day, no one is going to care for you and your loved ones. You have to do it.
I’m not an arrogant a-hole who doesn’t care about anything around him. The truth is that I care more about the things within my control and don’t let the outside people or circumstances affect my emotions. I don’t allow any negativity to get inside my head.
Stop giving too many f*cks about people, outside circumstances that are out of your control, and social media. Start saying, “screw it,” and do what truly matters to you. Life is too short to worry about things you can’t do anything about. So, focus on taking responsibility and doing what matters most to you and your loved ones.
