It's OK to Not Be OK + 4 Things to Do When You're Feeling Down

Kintsukuroi (golden repair) is a Japanese method of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with either gold, silver, or platinum. When pottery breaks, the Japanese don't just render it useless and throw it away as Americans would. Instead, they see breakage as something that adds to the history, value, beauty, and uniqueness of an object. It's not something they try to hide, as they make the filled-in cracks noticeably shiny.
In the same way, we as humans should not be rendered useless when we break (and we all do). Sadly, some are not aware of the high power this concept wields, and this is why we have suicides. When we break, it is not permanent. We must trust that adversity is what makes us unique. We must trust that it is adding to our history, value, and overall beauty.

But Everyone Else Is Perfect Though ...
According to who? According to themselves on Instagram and Facebook? That's a bit like asking a cigarette manufacturer to provide evidence that their products are safe to use, which is exactly what happened from the 1930s until the 1950s. At a time when there was no internet to find out otherwise and when solely placing trust in the hands of physicians regarding health was the norm, cigarette manufacturers provided evidence to physicians claiming cigarettes were not harmful. The manufacturers even went so far as to feature physicians in their ads to brainwash the public. Below are some headlines of ads featuring physicians from newspapers.

❖ “Not One Single Case of Throat Irritation Due to Smoking Camels”
❖ “More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette”
❖ “Give Your Throat a Vacation… Smoke a FRESH Cigarette”
❖ “20,679 Physicians Say ‘Luckies’ Are Less Irritating”
❖ “Science Discovered It… You Can Prove It”
❖ “NOW… 10 Months Scientific Evidence for Chesterfield”
❖ “Just What the Doctor Ordered”
❖ “Chesterfield Best for You”
❖ “Why Physicians Call Our New Brand “A HEALTH CIGAR”

Do you really believe that stuff? Well, the American public did for more than twenty years until they finally caught on. Now everyone knows cigarettes cause fatal lung cancer and all sorts of negative health externalities.
In a similar fashion, people post Instagram pictures and Facebook status updates to show and tell everyone how amazing their life is even though many of them are depressed. This creates a skewed image of the world. It creates delusion. If you want to believe in that skewed image, be delusional, and put the pressure on yourself to be as “perfect” as everyone else, then feel free. I’m not stopping you. It may be an endless pursuit that results in misery, however.
Just as the American public caught on to cigarettes being unhealthy, I think we are beginning to catch on to the façade that others put up. I think we are beginning to realize that peoples' lives aren't as perfect as they hype it up to be. I hope I'm right about this.

“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” — African Proverb
“Trust the process” — A mantra synonymous with the culture of the Philadelphia 76ers
“Every problem is a gift - without problems we would not grow.” ―Tony Robbins

Visit this week's guest, Jonathan Namath: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathannamath/

http://jordanparis.com/