October 27, 2024 / 2 Minute Read

the cost of being seen

I recently ran a paid promotion for one of my articles.

And it didn’t end well.

In the beginning, things were going swimmingly.

I got positive feedback from multiple people, and I felt the article was both informative and relevant.

Unfortunately, not everyone viewed my work in the same light.

I ended up receiving several negative comments.

At first, I simply ignored them; but as days passed and more people began to respond, I decided to take action.

I’ve responded to negative comments before, and it’s usually just bred more negativity.

This time, I decided to delete them.

In the immediate aftermath I felt euphoric, high on the power to silence and extricate people as I please.

I sure showed them right?

Wrong.

After the brief feelings of relief subsided, I realized that deleting the comment didn’t solve the root of the problem.

Negativity is like a weed.

No matter how many you pluck, more will always grow back.

When you reveal your heart to the world, not everyone will like what you have to say.

Many people will see you, but very few will actually hear you.

Even better, many people will hear you, but few will truly listen.

People will take one glance at your work, make an assumption based in ignorance, and proceed to attack you.

Some people will even hate you.

And there’s nothing you can do about it.

You can’t make people like you.

You can’t force people to see the world through your eyes.

You can’t convince people to stop engaging with content they don’t like.

So what can you do?

You can keep creating, regardless of what others think.

You can remove and ignore any negativity that taints the environment you are trying to create.

You can accept the cost of being seen.

Bye Chance.