The Main Character Energy We're Avoiding
A lot of us worry about getting the wrong kind of attention online--sometimes to the point where we don't share anything at all.
A few weeks ago, I drafted up a social post about a Portland City Council issue that was causing a real dust-up among small businesses here in town.
As I went to share it, though, my finger hovered over the Submit button and just… froze there for a minute.
Why? I was afraid I’d get utterly roasted for my thoughts. Government is something I don’t even remotely consider myself an expert on, and I was worried that I was missing something vital. In fact, I even opened the post with, “I hope I don’t get roasted for this...”
Anyhoo, I did share that post… and then I incessantly checked my social notifications for the next three hours. It wasn’t cute.
Spoiler alert: I didn't get canceled. (and you probably won't either)
In fact, I went on to have further conversations about that particular issue after posting about it. My post even led to some totally civilized and eye-opening discussions in the comments!
Still, I was so sure there was a deeper layer I hadn’t found yet that I almost didn’t say anything. A lot of us worry about getting the wrong kind of attention online--sometimes to the point where we don't share anything at all.
As we used to say back when Twitter wasn’t a garbage fire, “nobody wants to be the main character of Twitter.” As in, nobody wants to get dunked on by every rando with a keyboard because they said the wrong thing.
But here's the thing: I’d been saying for months that I want to lean into my anticapitalist values in our brand this year! Knowing that, it didn't exactly make sense for me to shy away from taking a stance on local government.
When we let that fear of being seen intimidate us into hiding ourselves, though, we all start to sound the same. We lose out on genuine connection.
We hold back from using our voices for good. I think we can all agree: this is a time when we really need to use our voices for good.
And you know what else? Main characters get noticed. Everyone knows that a main character exists, and whether you’re building a business or building a movement, people need to know you exist.
The next time that fear of judgment rears its ugly head, be willing to put those opinions out there. Take a stand that matters to you, and be ready to back it up.
Sure, you might get roasted. Or, you might simply get noticed, like the main character you are.
Until next time,
--Sarah
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