I am a young man myself, and I came across a song recently by a band called Styx. The song was Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man).
And quite frankly it was both uplifting and revealing simultaneously.
The song reveals a cynical angry man who fools himself about how terrible the world is, when in reality the future is quite bright. The song was originally based on Tommy Shaw's (lead vocals) perception of Dennis DeYoung's (keyboardist) anger despite their success. Later Shaw began to see the song in himself as well.
I find this to be a revealing idea. Quite often we portray our worldview onto others, perhaps in ways better left unsaid. We can't see past our own blind spots, because they are just that. Blind spots.
The Natural Order
Naturally, we have anger as both emotion and thought but society tells us to cease all such feelings. As though anger is the problem, rather than what caused the anger or how we reacted to the anger.
Anger is a natural reaction to an injustice you felt in your life. It is not something to be silenced, mocked, or managed like a bank account, but rather something to be channeled to solve problems.
Anger is a tool like the rest of our emotions, and occasionally that tool pops up when we don't even need to use it. That is our choice, whether or not we act on using that emotion. Using our best judgment we can determine the best course of action, but to always be in control of our emotions and not the other way around.
Cynicism Safety Blanket
"You see the world through your cynical eyes You're a troubled young man I can tell You've got it all in the palm of your hand But your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest"
A cynicism safety blanket was a term I heard from Chris Williamson over at the Modern Wisdom Podcast and it stuck with me. And it correlates to this song extensively. If we always criticize then when bad things go wrong we can say we told you so. But if things go right, then it is a happy surprise at best.
This attitude is detrimental to the real ups and downs of life. Instead of starting at baseline you always start below baseline; almost like being a 14-year-old for life. Not something I would wish on anybody.
Cynicism is a defense from ever feeling anything, which is mainly directed towards "bad" items like negative emotions or failure despite the fact both are essential to growth. In this quest, you also end up getting rid of happier moments as well, and you are left with a bitter feeling of being never quite fulfilled.
The antidote to this is simple to understand but hard to do. You have to acknowledge all of your feelings (good or bad), and then be able to embrace the failure that comes with the growth of life.
Be Honest
"Why must you be such an angry young man When your future looks quite bright to me How can there be such a sinister plan That could hide such a lamb, such a caring young man You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it"
We take the cold comfort of anger and cynicism so as to never be disappointed if we expect something good that fails. This is a mirage that hides our true identity from growing into something more resilient, more fierce, and more kind.
The blanket of cynicism turns into disillusionment. A kind of false identity one forces upon oneself to get away from a past event. However hiding from said past event pushes you into a corner, one you can leave if you ever choose, but the illusion says otherwise.
A cloud of anger, cynicism and enchantment over a life you wish you could have but can't. But in fact, that's completely untrue, you can, you just need to take a leap of faith.
Take A Chance
"Get up, get back on your feet You're the one they can't beat and you know it Come on, let's see what you've got Just take your best shot and don't blow it"
Cynicism and anger can keep you from taking a chance on something great, as you are held back by the chains of certainty in the idea that everything is for the worse as opposed for better.
Sometimes you have to take a shot and give it your all. Maybe you'll fail, maybe you'll look foolish. But you'll never gain as much if you don't even try.
