It’s Time For You to Embrace the Cringe
“How you gonna knock somebody in the world for actually trying to do something?”
A$AP Rocky said that years ago and it sums up the life of half the internet creators.
Somewhere along the way, everyone became terrified of looking cringe. People would rather act detached, ironic and “too cool to care” than risk being seen genuinely trying at something. Because trying means failing publicly sometimes. Trying means posting things before they’re perfect. Trying means people might laugh at you before they clap for you.
But literally every cool person you admire today had a cringe phase.
There was a point where they were making music in their bedroom with terrible acoustics. Posting random edits that got 43 views. Uploading covers nobody cared about. Talking into a camera awkwardly. Designing clothes nobody wore. Making films on borrowed cameras. Putting their art online while strangers commented things like “bro thinks he’s him.”
But that phase is necessary.
The internet makes it seem like successful people just appear fully formed with great taste, confidence and an audience already waiting for them. But that’s never how it happens. Before anyone becomes good, they usually spend a long time being mid in public.
That’s the part people hate.
Nobody wants to be seen learning. Nobody wants to look uncool. Everyone wants the final form without the awkward evolution montage in between. But the awkward evolution montage is literally where the magic happens.
Cringe is basically proof that you’re early.
If you’re making something new, experimenting, putting yourself out there or caring deeply about something, there’s a high chance somebody somewhere will find it embarrassing. That’s fine. People call things cringe right before they become popular all the time.
The funniest part is that the same people who laugh at someone for trying will later say things like “I’ve been supporting them since day one.”
And let’s be honest, being cringe is way better than being forgettable. At least cringe people are doing something. They’re creating. They’re risking embarrassment. They’re putting energy into the world instead of sitting online acting emotionally unavailable to everything.
Most people fail because they’re too scared to be perceived as trying.
So post the weird video. Start the brand. Make the music. Wear the experimental fit. Upload the art. Be passionate in public. The people who eventually become great are usually just the ones who survived being cringe long enough.
