Choose to Take the Journey

As regular readers of my blog might know, I have started to go out, a lot. Initially I only went out with friends, but eventually I started to go out by myself sometimes and just make friends on the fly. Why do I do it? For one thing, it’s fun. Really fun. Maybe not always, but one thing I’ve realized about myself is that I am a natural introvert and if I don’t go to the gym and get out of the house regularly, I get stuck in my head. If you are also an introvert, you know that being stuck in your head is not fun. It is anti-fun. It sucks.

Anyway, the more I go out, the more often I get people telling me how cool they think I am (not super often, but way more often than I’m used to), mostly girls (which is awesome), but sometimes guys (which is ok, I guess). When you have an experience like this, it’s very validating at first, but as you get more and more accustomed to it, you stop caring as much, which strangely enough, makes you even cooler. I think most normal people would just leave it at that, but I’m not normal obviously. I like to analyze everything, including what it means to be cool. Chill. Level-headed. Even-keeled.

The irony of it all is that the act of analyzing “cool” is by its nature, uncool. But I am going to do it anyway because that’s how cool I am. Just kidding.

When you are cool, or at least feel cool, you will find the following to be true:

1) There is no need to argue, even if you know you’re right. You have nothing to prove so you do not feel a strong need to talk about anything in particular. You do not feel the need to explain yourself.

2) There is no need to respond to criticism or accusations. You allow people to think whatever they want, even if what they think is that you are a pathetic internet blogger who writes endlessly about some idiotic journey.

3) Rather than reaching for the future, you allow the future to come to you. You live in the moment and handle issues as they arise.

4) You do not expect anything from other people, and therefore you are grateful for everything.

5) You express yourself freely even if it means some people will dislike you. You know that not everyone has to like each other, and that’s ok.

These are not techniques to get people to like you, but rather a natural outflow of someone who lives a life of balance, who is on his journey, and who has learned (and re-learned) how to master himself. The funny thing is that after writing this, I will probably be the most uncool person in the world for a while, but that is the price I’m willing to pay for my blog readers.