bloganuary

Bloganuary: Boldly Go!

19 Comments

What does it mean to live boldly?

This question is meaningless. There is no such thing as ‘living boldly’. The idea that one can is coded into the algorithms that drive Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: It presupposes that a series of composed and curated snapshots is real life. It is not. And so this question is meaningless.

If you want to live a good-life, then find the qualities that you want to be defined by and strive towards being that person.

Change your perspective — look UP.

Do you agree or disagree with me — you’re safe, I only bite on weekends — let me know in the comments.

19 thoughts on “Bloganuary: Boldly Go!”

  2. You know, as someone of an older generation , the concept of living boldly was around a long time before social media! Although I respect your opinion I feel you have imposed limiting parameters to your response. I hope the same doesn’t apply to your life. It’s Saturday here – you can bite me 😂

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    1. You mean living like the young couple in Topper (1937)? 😉

      Yeah, but ‘living boldly’ has been largely limited to the upper classes for most of human history; social media has turned it into a hashtag; and companies have commercialized it.

      I’m not taking these prompt literally but putting a spin on them. I’m 52 and grew up when boasting about ones self was considered bad form. Taken together, my approach is to criticize these prompts (sometimes not so subtly).

      Oh, would you look at that! It’s the weekend. (chomp!) <— the one time I need an emoji and there isn’t one. 😄

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  3. I kind of think you related bold living closely to indications of life on social media, if I am taking the meaning you intended for your post. While I felt similar about the bold living prompt, I tried to relate it to external life as well. Thank you again for interacting with my blog, by the way

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    1. Maybe…. What I’m trying to convey is that “bold living” is a cliche (like YOLO) that is spread through social media. The ultimate effect makes one unhappy with one’s own life. We then seek to publish (not really live) a version of reality rather than live in reality. Real life is not Instagramable but a so called ‘bold life’ is supposed to be.

      Does that make more sense?

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    1. My meaning is that the statement “to live boldly” is a cliche rooted in social media. Similar to YOLO, this way of thinking is a hashtag placed beside a photo, a Tweet, a shared piece of media that says either ‘look at me, isn’t my life great’ or ‘this here is the best way to live life’. Both are fictions.

      Watch a movie in which the (almost always) timid character is told to “be bold!”. S/he does X action that changes the trajectory of their life. It’s presented as a life lesson but it is a fiction.

      Instead of behaving outside ones character, be strict with ones sense of self.

      There was an article in the Washington Post last week of a woman who “lived boldly” and divorced her husband because “[she] was bored”. That’s not living boldly, that’s living selfishly and it is nothing to be admired. I could go on.

      Mind you, this is how I, personally, understand the question. As they say, miles may vary.

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  10. Pingback: Here are my thoughts on “living boldly”. – Bloganuary

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