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We need to start expecting more out of the "average person".

See, when it comes to being on the internet too much, something I’ve gotten real sick and tired of is “insecurity”. And don’t get me wrong, we’ve all been there, but I’ve found that it doesn’t take much for someone to go from “I’m confused” to “I feel inadequate” to “literally Hitler”.

The first Family Guy Funny Moment may seem like an exaggeration, but Hitler was just a guy at the end of the day. There are a lot of people out there who couldn’t get accepted into art school and whose Mom passed away, these are all things normal people have had to deal with in their everyday lives.

That’s an under-discussed aspect of insecurity, I think. They need a way to not feel insecure and inadequate anymore, so the easy thing to do is to just blame it on someone else, be that “Elites” of the past or the Gym Bros of the modern day. It’s not your fault you’re so miserable all the time, it’s all their fault!

Now, I’m not an expert on anything, but in my experience one of the best ways for building self-confidence has just been doing things that are challenging, or at the very least sticking with and doing something that requires a bit of a learning curve over a period of time.

In Drew Gooden’s video about how "AI is ruining the internet", he fucking cooked at the end there, where he spoke about how what makes art special is that it’s difficult to make, and I feel this applies to a lot of things in life. Because it’s just as he said, it’s rewarding, that’s something you can feel proud of and feel good about yourself.

You know, every kid has their role model, and I think for me that was Lou Ferrigno. He spoke with a lisp, just like me! And he once talked about how gaining discipline has helped him in all areas of life, be that physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally.

"You will die and that's okay."

An example someone once gave me is that people often talk about how Fromsoft games have helped them overcome depression, specifically because of the challenge. It builds their confidence as they begin to visualize depression like it’s a Dark Souls boss.

Because you might lose a lot, it might be hard, and sometimes you might have to throw in the towel for the day, but that doesn’t matter, what does matter is you keep getting back up and fight until you win.

Elden Ring may have helped improve your confidence, even if you’ve never lacked it before. And it can be extremely fun!