RECLAIMING AUTHENTICITY IN A WORLD OF IMPRESSIONS

Most attention-seeking behaviour stems from uncertainty about one's own worth, resulting in a desperate need for external validation to feel secure. Such behaviour serves neither the seeker nor the giver of attention. The validation received feels hollow because deep down, the receiver knows it was obtained through contrived manipulation rather than authentic expression.

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Right since our birth, we are trained to conduct ourselves according to others' expectations. Everything about us seems to come from outside; every single identity is social. We write in prescribed ways, speak in acceptable tones, worship in traditional patterns, hold sanctioned beliefs about life, and shape our responses to please family, peers and lords. This conditioning runs so deep that we unconsciously continue our perpetual performances. The same pattern extends seamlessly into professional life as well, where the stakes of impressing others appear even higher, and the consequences of failing to do so seem more dire.

In today's world, where lives seem to be lived online, this tendency manifests most visibly on social media. Here, genuine expression often takes a backseat to calculated performance. We carefully curate content designed to sparkle in followers' eyes, prioritising potential 'likes' over authentic insights. Our posts become exercises in strategic timing and careful editing rather than authentic sharing. This behaviour stems from a fundamental desire for recognition and respect, yet we must question: What value truly exists in such carefully manufactured presentations? When we examine this compulsion to impress others, we find that at its core, it is an attempt to impact minds. If such influence is inevitable, why not channel it toward genuinely beneficial ends? The problem lies not in the act of making an impression, but in the hollow motivation behind it-the mere gratification of ego. This pursuit of external validation often leaves us feeling more empty than fulfilled, trapped in an endless cycle of seeking approval that can never truly satisfy.

Look to history's influential figures-leaders, thinkers, spiritual guides.