Why you MUST do Cringe

Every now and then, you must do cringe.

There is a social structure around us demanding that we behave 'appropriately’. There is an unsaid (and sometime, said) rule that good boys and girls must conform to their surroundings. There is an accepted way of thinking and doing things. Anything outside of this is frowned upon, or actively shut down.

As we stray outside the boundaries of what is accepted, how we are perceived goes from silly, to absurd, to cringe, to uncomfortable to dangerous.

Once we are in the realm of dangerous, that is when violent or legal reactions start happening from society. But in the fear of that repercussion, we all stay too safely within the realm of the strictly acceptable.

The only problem is, all creativity lies in exploration. And no one has ever created anything worth mentioning by ALWAYS being acceptable.

No artist has discovered their own style by painting within the drawn lines. No musician has made new music by playing by the rules set by other musicians. No one grows by making zero mistakes.

So, learn the art of cringe.

Say and do things that every now and then, make people go.. hmmm… whattt? Do it, not for that reaction itself, but because you are learning to navigate further into what your mind thinks is and isn’t possible.

Will you occasionally slip up? Yes.

Is society forgiving of mistakes? I wish I could say it was. But it is better than forgiving, it is forgetful. In today’s fast paced world where one cannot remember a reel that one saw 2 minutes ago, and even a World leader’s comments are only remembered until the next one, I think we have more room for cringe than we think. The main thing that is standing in the way of our exploring cringe is our own fear of judgement. And only when you realise that all judgement, whether positive or negative, is fleeting and fickle, will you truly embrace your actions for what they are worth to you and to you alone.

And that, at times, can look like Cringe.

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Love and cheers,

Sid