🎈Dislike is a Badge of Honor

This article was inspired by toxic social media comments.

When’s the last time you did something where you didn’t know whether people would like it or hate it?

This uncertainty is the defining factor in social risk-taking.

Take social risks, and you risked being disliked.

Don’t take risks, and you play it safe.

You can choose to follow the norm, be quiet, be calm, not stir the pot, not ask a sensitive question, not challenge someone… and guess what… you will never be disliked. Because people won’t really notice you.

But the courageous path? It’s a path characterized by people who love you and people who hate you. This is my path. This is the path of having an impact. This is the path of getting better. This is the path of trying new things.

Instead of playing it safe, you experiment. You fail. You succeed. And then you apply the results and get better.

You can wear dislike as a badge of honor for taking conscious, respectful, selfless risks. Or you can make it to mean that you’re a failure.

Are you someone who doesn’t take risks because you are afraid of being disliked? Does this fear cause you to stay in your shell, tippy-toeing around other humans, constantly monitoring whether people accept you?