Just shut the hell up.
Seriously, doomerism has become big business. Dumb d*cks do it to get cheap clicks.
Doomerism became a popular word again thanks to researcher Hannah Ritchie from Oxford University and the popular article she wrote.
It describes people who are overly pessimistic or fatalist on issues such as humans going to space, climate change, politics, free speech, overpopulation, vaccines, etc.
They preach “the end of the world” if no one listens to them.
When you look at their social media feeds it’s full of doomer content. There’s nothing wrong with a Karen view on an issue here and there. It’s human nature to be negative sometimes.
But when all they ever talk about is how society is collapsing, it’s exhausting. God forbid they lived through a world war or a food shortage like my grandmother. They wouldn’t know what to do with themselves.
All the doomerism is exhausting.
Doomerism is disguised as “helpful discussion of societal issues”
Not really.
It helps no one. It drains the last bit of optimism we have left after a difficult 2.5 years.
It takes people who may already be at rock bottom and says “here, let me pull the trigger on the gun you already pointed at your head.”
Discussion of societal issues is pointless if the conclusion is always “we’re screwed.” Says who? A doomer? I don’t think so.
Societal topics that turn into doombait are fun to discuss because those who feast on them get:
- A fake sense they’re smart
- A chance to get attention they may not have got as a child
- The ability to start internet wars and watch the destruction
None of the societal issues get solved though.
When was the last time you saw a person with a string of doom tweets wake up the next day and get given a Nobel Prize for discussing societal issues and solving world hunger? Never.
There’s no time in history when there isn’t a crisis in society
Doomers pretend like suddenly we woke up and there are boogie monsters everywhere, messing with our beautiful lives. Not quite.
Life is always bad. We’re always “screwed.”
Image Credit: James Altucher via this tweet
Author James Altucher says we can add Ch!na/Taiwan, inflation, higher interest rates, the recession, and the war on the other side of the world to the list to round it out.
There will always be another crisis.
Such is the nature of humanity. Pointing out this obvious pattern is so dumb a 5-year old could do it. It’s not smart. It’s exhausting to hear.
Optimism is a piece of garbage, too
Wait, what?
You heard me. Old mate optimism isn’t a knight in shining armor either. He’s been lying to people for years.
It’s because there are two categories of optimism:
- Blind optimism
- Actionable optimism
Optimism has become shorthand for “delusional and will probably bet on a fake god to save them.” We’ve been high as a kite on blind optimism, and hardly embraced actionable optimism.
Just like with pessimism, optimism can be without solutions too.
You can just put your feet up and go “Yep, mother nature got this. Stop worrying Bozo.” What we need is the actionable variety. We need people who will go beyond just talking and put their money where their mouth is.
For example, I think online education is broken, so I’m trying to fix it. I’m putting all of my money and time into this field. Yet I am one person — and flawed more than most.
But actionable optimism has taught me I must try. I may not be the one to solve the problem but I could inspire the person who is.
Why we avoid optimists like a bat virus
Optimism has a reputation issue.
Hannah Ritchie says the problem is optimism stigma. The average person sees optimism as deaf, blind, dumb, stupid, ignorant, and naive.
Pessimism sounds smart. Optimism sounds dumb.
Optimism is only dumb when it’s followed by “everything will get better and I can’t tell you why.”
Smart optimism is followed by solutions and action. Real optimists who take societal issues and solve them start movements. They recruit people. They build communities. They lead discussions.
And they get out from behind their dumb computer and made-up username and address people face-to-face in public.
The truth only comes out when their in-real-life reputation is on the line.
Actionable optimists see an opportunity to solve a problem and are fine to invest money, time, and their reputation to do it.
Pessimistic doomers do the opposite
They want to tell us everything is broken so there’s no point even trying.
“Just give up.”
“I tried to tell them but they won’t listen.”
Action is the last thing on their minds. All that drives them is their ego and the desire to look and sound smart. It’s a status game. Ohhh, and their doomer views are overly satirical too.
You know what they say, if everything that comes out of their mouths is sarcastic, you can’t trust them.
Famous professor of psychology David Dunning goes as far as to say “Sarcasm is the least genuine mode of communication.” Ouch!
What this all means for you
Too much doomerism is bad for your mental health. Life is hard enough.
How are you supposed to go about your day when there’s a phone in your pocket or a pessimist in your ear screaming “everything is broken!”
You can’t.
If your brain hurts or you have zero motivation this might be why.
You can either be a person that spots problems and does nothing about them for the reward of ‘likes.’ Or you can do as James Clear suggests and become a problem solver, not a problem adder.
Pessimists sound smart, actionable optimists solve problems and experience the drug of progress. Choose wisely.
