Why we cringe at old content
You know that feeling when you stumble across one of your old social media posts and it makes you second guess if you should ever post anything ever again?
There’s a reason for that, let me explain…
It’s called “The End of History Illusion,” and it’s a cognitive bias where we believe we’ve finally become the person we’ll be for the rest of our lives.
This illusion persists at every age. We always think we’re done changing.
It’s like we’re stuck in a perpetual state of “I’ve got it all figured out now.”
One study by Harvard psychologists showed that people consistently underestimate how much they’ll change in the future.
This bias affects how we view our past selves, especially on social media.
That cringe you feel at old posts? It’s the gap between who you were and who you are now.
Especially with the pace of social media, we’re all growing and changing at the speed of light.
This gap can feel huge.
The good news
Cringe is a sign of growth.
It means you’re evolving, learning, and becoming a better version of yourself. It’s completely healthy and a sign that you’re doing something right.
In fact, I’d be worried if you didn’t cringe at least a little.
The real mind-bender
In a few years, you’ll likely be cringing at some of the content you’re making right now.
But don’t let any of this stop you from creating.
The difference between the big creators growing a successful career and the ones who give up? They understand that cringing is part of the process. They embrace the cringe.
To wrap it up
- Keep creating, especially if you think it might be cringe-worthy in the future.
- When you look back and cringe, celebrate it. It means you’re growing.
- Remember that everyone goes through this, even your favorite creators.
- Don’t worry about deleting your old content, you’ll likely just cringe at yourself for doing that too.
Keep cringing, I mean, keep going.
-Dylan
PS: I thought about inserting a joke here about how we should change the name of “The Creator Club” to “The Cringe Club”, but just that thought alone made me look like my first pic in this article.
Anyways, you can get 1 month free when you join The Creator Club for a year. This offer expires next Monday, September 30th at 12pm PT. Click here to join The Creator Club.