It’s Ok Not to Be Ok
In the frenetic dance of the digital age, there’s an unspoken choreography — a belief that you need to stay on beat, remain unfazed, always glide with grace. We’ve been sold this Silicon Valley-fueled illusion, where every entrepreneur is a prodigy, every influencer’s life is curated to perfection, and every setback is just a “pivot.” But let’s hit pause and dispel this glamour-infused mirage: The tune we ought to harmonize with is not the symphony of perpetual success, but the raw, unfiltered ballad that declares, “It’s okay to not be okay.”
Let’s start with some Economics 101.
The concept of “constant growth”? It’s not just unsustainable — it’s a fantasy. Ask any market maven or seasoned VC, and they’ll acknowledge the cyclical nature of economies. Boom, bust, recovery. Rinse and repeat. So why, when it comes to the stock market of our emotional well-being, do we expect an ever-upward graph? Accepting the troughs is as crucial as celebrating the peaks. Downturns, my friend, are not just inevitable; they’re instructive.
Dive into the annals of tech and innovation, and you’ll find a mosaic of failures. The Jobs, the Bezos, the Musks — none strutted from one Eureka moment to another. They grappled, they stumbled, and yes, they were not okay. But here’s the catch: It’s in those shadowy alleys of “not okay-ness” that grit was forged, visions were recalibrated, and legends were birthed. Failure wasn’t their antithesis — it was their alma mater.
Translate this to our personal lives. In the age of Instagram filters and LinkedIn accolades, it’s seductively easy to fall into the comparison trap. Everyone seems to be hustling harder, scaling higher, living larger. But pull back the curtain, and you’ll recognize that everyone, from the titan of industry to the budding artist, has their off days, off months, even off years. Their narratives aren’t linear; they’re beautifully, messily labyrinthine.
Being okay with not being okay isn’t about endorsing languor. No. It’s about recognizing that embracing vulnerability isn’t a weakness — it’s a superpower. Because the moment you acknowledge the storm, you can start navigating through it. The greatest products weren’t built on unchecked optimism, but refined through critical feedback. Similarly, the most resilient of us aren’t those who’ve never tasted despair but those who’ve sipped its bitter brew and chosen to persevere.
Moreover, in the hallowed halls of business and life, true innovation — be it a disruptive startup idea or a transformative personal insight — often stems from discomfort. Contentment rarely catalyzes change. Dissonance does. It’s when we’re “not okay” that we question the status quo, challenge our boundaries, and shatter our self-imposed glass ceilings.
But let’s not romanticize pain. The message here isn’t to glorify suffering but to destigmatize the acceptance of our lows. Mental health, in the corporate corridors and social circles, needs a rebrand. It’s not a sign of fragility but an emblem of humanity. Every time a leader, an influencer, or a peer sheds the armor and admits, “I’m not okay,” they don’t diminish their stature. They elevate the collective conversation.
Wrapping this up, in the grand marketplace of life, where emotions, ambitions, and dreams are traded, there will be bull runs, and there will be crashes. But remember: Value isn’t just derived from relentless upticks. Sometimes, the most profound growth, the most genuine authenticity, the most lasting bonds, are birthed in the valleys of vulnerability. So, next time the weight of expectations, setbacks, or self-doubt bear down, take a breath, find your tribe, and own your narrative. It’s not just okay, but essential, to sometimes admit: “I’m not okay.” And that, in its raw honesty, is perfectly okay.
Brian Fink is the author of Talk Tech To Me. He takes on the stress and strain of complex technology concepts and simplifies them for the modern recruiter. Fink’s impassioned wit and humor tackle the highs and lows of technical recruiting with a unique perspective — a perspective intended to help you find, engage, and partner with professionals.
