30/08/2026
Social media and even professional forums such as LinkedIn have made happiness and success incredibly public and loneliness, failure and tough emotions very private.
So many people appear to be having a great time: dancing, travelling, in love, healing, thriving, winning awards, accolades.
Meanwhile, someone watching is sitting alone, going through something they never saw coming, wondering how everyone else got the instruction manual to the perfect life.
That’s the strange thing about performed happiness: the happier or more successful everyone looks, the more isolated struggling people can feel.
Not because everyone is actually happier or more successful but because many will not post the parts of life that don’t photograph well: loneliness, failure, grief, fear, starting again.
Maybe just for today, we can try to celebrate the genuine hustle that we all know is real in today’s climate. Maybe for today, we can just celebrate being alive.