longer.blue

I used to think I had to achieve the perfect emotional state before I could be charismatic. I would worry: Am I in an amazing mood? Is my energy high enough? Do I need to visualize first? Do I need to meditate? Do I need to change my state before I socialize? I thought the formula was: Amazing mood → amazing energy → amazing charisma But all that monitoring was creating the exact problem I was trying to solve. I was thinking about whether I was charismatic instead of expressing myself. I was checking my energy instead of giving energy. I was preparing to socialize instead of socializing. Now I can bypass all that shit with one word: Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Not because I want to become genuinely stupid. Because “idiot” gives me permission to stop evaluating myself. Stop trying to sound impressive. Stop searching for the perfect response. Stop waiting for an amazing mood. Say the obvious thing. Make the stupid joke. Follow the random thought. Laugh. Play. Express. I don’t need to create the perfect state before I socialize anymore. Expression creates the state. The old formula was: Perfect state → charismatic expression The new formula is: Permission to be an idiot → immediate expression → momentum → energy → charisma “Idiot” destroys the internal approval committee. It eliminates the mental latency between having a thought and expressing it. It reminds me that charisma isn’t perfection. Charisma is freedom. Charisma is play. Charisma is being willing to look stupid because you are no longer hiding. I don’t need twenty visualization techniques before I talk to someone. I need one word: Idiot.