With “lucky girl syndrome” dominating the internet, it’s important to remember that it’s okay to have bad days too. It’s impossible for everything you do to turn out in a favorable way and that’s just life: It’s how you deal with the aftermath that determines how you feel about the world around you. For me, lucky girl syndrome sometimes feeds into the long-retired habit of toxic positivity, and we’re far past that now. As this new point of view takes over your for you page, you can cope with the confusion it brings by validating yourself, namely your uncomfortable emotions.
And you’re not alone. If, like me, you too feel sidelined by the popularity of the lucky girl syndrome on your feed. There are more people out there who feel a similar way to us. I believe that the array of self-validation videos emerging to counter the trend is actually a good thing. There’s something empowering about netizens standing up for mental health awareness that gives me hope for our future. It’s like, despite how bleak life online — and in general — gets, I know there exists a safety net of kind people who won’t stand for it and will actively try to make it a little bit better for everyone else.
When you really take a moment to look at it, self-validation is a powerful tool when you’re wanting to change how you feel about yourself and your life. It brings your perspective back to your wants and needs and does the emotional heavy lifting for you. And it’s not an empty promise either based on circumstantial evidence. When you learn that you can be your own best emotional support person, you become something of a superhuman. Suddenly, you are able to respond to situations as your assertive and honest self, and you are fully present in the experiences you’re having. It’s being able to have the inner confidence and trust in yourself to get through the day unscathed, at least, for the most part. All self-validation asks is that you give yourself a shot.
Here’s a roundup of some self-validation TikToks you can bookmark and dave to watch later when you need a reminder of how powerful you are, and can be.