False Expectation to Visual Reality

I wish to continue from the last blog, ‘Challenging Social Media Influences‘. I had highlighted about the negative influences from news, social media and television. Such influences are subtle, continuous and quickly adapted as reality by many, especially the younger generation.

The changes that take place in the current times are indeed very challenging. It becomes really convenient for anyone to post a story, incident, comments and more. Whilst there are a lot of benefits available, like watching YouTube for self-help videos when you are in a fix, equally there are many videos that can influence you negatively.

For example, TikTok is currently very popular world-wide, especially the TikTok Challenges. There were so many of them that rendered being funny, but quite a lot became dangerous stunts. Tik Tok Blackout Challenge requires the participant to choke themselves until they pass out and wake up moments later. Unfortunately, a 12-year-old boy from Oklahoma, died attempting this dangerous social media trend.

Youngsters and adults were emulating dangerous and foolish TikTok challenges that were trending. These challenges brought severe repercussion and injuries to quite a lot of such adventurous people. The latest was a 23-year-old woman who went to visit her cousin in Turkey. Whilst trying to shoot a TikTok video from the edge of a roof, she fell 50 meters down into the space of an apartment and died.

These influences are becoming a trend, where it seems to block the ability of the executer to think wisely. They jump to the immediate instance, in repeating the event that they have watched, believing that they can do it as well.

Perhaps it is the unfortunate and impulsive moment, where their adrenaline hormone shuts the pathway to their brain that identifies danger. Instead of recognizing a threat, their adrenaline creates excitement and energizing them to pursue a foolish path. They expect to accomplish exactly what they saw visually, but the consequence and the outcome, became otherwise.

Our mind is a limitless playground. If you are someone adventurous and daring, chances are, you may be skydiving, whitewater rafting, paragliding, motocross racing or skateboarding. Knowing that it does have some form of risk in it, you will still pursue without hesitation. There is nothing irrational about these activities.

Being human gives you the opportunity to execute life-experiences,
that you are able to value in great depth.
Maximus @ MaximusPrimo.com

When you take someone as your reference or guide, you will need to also remain positively guided and not sent to your doom.

Take Dwayne Johnson, for example, he is indeed a very popular figure. Being an action hero who started from professional wrestling, he went through many different challenges in his life. He opened up about his depression, taking steroids, failed marriage, fatherhood and his life-experiences. His online motivations videos are very inspirational and motivates you to do the right things in your life, even when everything else seems to be a junction to failure.

Here is the reality. He has informed you about the challenges he has to face in become who he is. If you have seen his high school days photo, there is really a big difference in how he looks physically. It was not an overnight transformation of how he looks today compared to his earlier days. He trains daily and eats an average of 6000 calories per day to supplement the physical energy requirement. He demands his best and remains strongly committed to his work and family. This is his reality and not yours.

When you are visualizing Dwayne Johnson to pump up your body and become muscular, unless you are 6 feet 5 inches tall and have a large physical genetic heritage, your biological progress will be different. You can pursue the direction he has given as your stepping stone, on what not to do to yourself, especially taking steroids. Most people don’t do this and want quick changes for themselves, whilst reflecting visually to someone like him.

You may not have five hours a day to spare, exclusively to exercise and do body-building. If you are lucky, with the time you allocate, your body makes progress with transformation. If you rush and be negligent, you most probably will drop dead due to premature heart failure. That is the reality for fast and unbalanced outcome of your physical-self.

A good and honest coach at your gym will suggest what is good for you. Read and take a reference to a proper lifestyle so that you can have consistency, not only at your current age, but throughout your lifetime. It is pointless when you want to look ripped in your mid 20s to 30s but thereafter, decide that your personal vanity is no longer necessary.

This normally happens when you are possibly settled down and juggling family with work, like everyone else. Your body starts losing muscle, converting it to droopy fat and waistline that you will not be happy with. You end up compensating your unmanaged body to the idea that you are now a more suitable with the size of your MPV.

You have influenced yourself with your false reality, by creating an excuse on why you cannot maintain your physical and mental well-being.

Here is my continuous guide to your well-being under these circumstances:

1. Stop being unintelligent and foolish. You are better that that and you know it.

2. Be open and communicate with your children. You have given them a hand-phone, a computer and luxuries where possible. They have access to the internet and the first thing they will attempt; is to emulate what they see online without reasoning.

3. Peer pressure is overwhelming for teenagers. In fact, adults also experience this most often. You need to have a balanced mind, that you are in control instead of being led by the indiscriminate pressure of wanting to fit in. Learn to say no, when needed. You do not need to fit in a club, where people are not looking out for your well-being.

4. Your safety is your personal priority. No one is going to look out for you, in their attempt to act and replay what they saw online. You either become a willing victim or a victim or consequences. In both instances, the one who will be suffering the most is you.

5. Being foolishly adventurous and calling someone a wet-blanket, does not make you a brave person. The death of someone will be on your hands, if you are being negligent. Do not say that you are sorry and you that did not know. The reality is very visible and logical, but you intentionally decide to ignore all red-lights.

6. They are called influencers for a reason. A marketing influencer will want financial profit to their actions. There is nothing wrong with it, as it is their source of income. You on the other hand, will lose money, if you become gullible and addictive to the visual enticements. Think about it. There are other influencers who educate you with good values, but you tend to ignore this. Learn to know the difference. It is no rocket science.

7. Body shaming is not at all pleasing, if someone does it to you or vice-versa. Being obese is a personal preference, but in reality, you have been over-eating and have an unmanageable consequential habit.

8. It is your personal choice, but finding an excuse to remain unhealthy, is not advisable. It is pointless when you become severely ill and begin to regret why you did not take better care of yourself in the first place. Be happy with yourself first. Do not compare yourself with others.

Let’s visualize a garden that is full of flowers. Some looking plain, whilst others exuberate in enticing colors. Bees still look for both of them, as long as they are able to provide some-form of nectar for them to collect. What you contribute to your personal well-being by yourself, remains your benefit. Look at yourself and make small changes that are needed to make you feel better. Learn to inculcate Positive Attitude within yourself.

9. You do not need to prove anything to anyone, unless and when you are arrested for a crime you did not commit. If you realize your positive skill sets and make good use of it, people will notice you. This is your influence to others.

10. Meditate and exercise. A healthy mind and body make you a better person.