Self-awareness is a strength... until you accidentally turn it into a weakness.
Today, while walking back home from college, my AirPods died, which left me alone with my random thoughts. I don't know if it'll make any sense to you, but I'm sharing it anyway.
I realised something about many of us:
We’re highly self-aware.
We understand humour, respect, disrespect, tone, intention, and everything in between.
We’re humble, emotionally intelligent, and conscious of how our words might make others feel.
And that’s a strength…
…that many of us often accidentally turn into a weakness. Tchtchtchhh :(
We think too much.
“Should I do this?”
“What will people say?”
“What if I fail?”
“What if it looks bad?”
“What if it’s cringe?”
And before we even make a move, someone else, someone who doesn’t overthink, grabs the opportunity and takes action.
And we?
We slowly become more hesitant, more scared to step forward, more introverted… not because we lack talent but because we’re paralysed by our own awareness.
But here’s the thing I realised today:
Self-awareness is not meant to stop us. It’s meant to guide us.
Knowing how others might think or feel is a superpower, but only if we use it to understand, not to overthink.
Because honestly… “cringe” is so subjective.
Look at Saurav Joshi when he started.
Look at Dolly Chai Wala today. Aim to be so cringe that someday Bill Gates wants to see your work and post a video with you. ;)
Look at every creator, leader, and entrepreneur. Their early work was called cringe by someone, and sometimes by "everyone".
But consistency and passion turn cringe into confidence and confidence into success.
Nobody cares about your “cringe phase” when you win. In fact, people celebrate it.
So why not use our self-awareness differently?
Use it to understand the needs of others.
Use it to read situations better.
Use it to communicate with empathy.
But stop using it to hold ourselves back.
So, whether it’s a small idea or a crazy dream, just take the first step. Go out and do it without waiting for approval. (Even if it's cringe, or especially if it is "cringeee")
cuz....Action > Overthinking. (Always)
Just a random walking-thought btw… but it made sense to me.
Maybe it’ll make sense to you, too.