Every Human Needs a Medium for Self-Expression

Imagine if athletics wasn’t a thing, and the Olympics was an unrated event that only held in Greece. Perhaps, no one would have heard or seen the ‘genius’ of Usain Bolt’s feet.

Imagine that football wasn’t a sport, and people didn’t make a living kicking a football around. Perhaps, no one would have witnessed the footballing ‘magic’ of Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and all the other football Greats.

Imagine that writing and publishing wasn’t a thing, that Gutenberg didn’t revolutionize the printing press, and that the internet never came along. Think of all the great stories that would never have been told or published.

If I hadn’t found Medium, perhaps I would have postponed publishing to some time in my imaginary future when all conditions will be ‘perfect’. And I know I am not alone on this. Medium has provided lots of writers like me a ‘medium’ to cut out procrastination and express ourselves.

Every human needs a medium for self-expression.

Self-expression is a psychological need of Man.

Quite often, people who couldn’t engage their preferred ‘medium’ for self-expression end up living what is often referred to as a life of Quiet Desperation and tend to feel frustrated, depressed, dissatisfied, and even angry at life.

We are not in any way limited in our capabilities, but we are often drawn to certain curiosities, and enticed by specific ideas of possibilities and success. If golf wasn’t a thing, for instance, Tiger Woods would probably have been an Insurance salesman, a State attorney, or some other thing, and perhaps he’ld still be a happy and fulfilled man. But being exposed to golf, and seeing the possibility of becoming good at it, golf became the preferred option for self-expression and actualization.

Everybody is drawn to different mediums of self-expression.

Some people are even brave enough to create a medium for expressing themselves if the available options don’t fit. It is one of the reasons why people innovate and start businesses. We make sense of life and existence by imposing our imaginations on preexisting things to create new unique forms. This is true for writing, as it is for pottery, oratory, or any other form of self-expression.

When we find the medium, environment, relationships, or mental frame that supports our self-expression, we feel empowered.

A lot of people are familiar with the concept of ‘Flow’ as described by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. ‘Flow’ is described in Wikipedia as ‘the mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity’.

We get the most optimal experience from life when we are in a ‘Flow’ state.

Now, imagine living a life of ‘Flow’. This will no doubt be a life dedicated to pursuing a path of self-expression that feels congruent with you.

For Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, that would mean a life dedicated to messing around with radioactive particles. For me, that would mean reading, writing, and exploring my curiosities. For some random Joe out there, that may mean jumping from one crazy idea to the other.

“Find what you love and let it kill you”, those are the words of Charles Bukowski, a controversial writer that has been described with words ranging from unapologetic and crazy to sick and disgusting. He was a man dedicated to his medium of self-expression that he rather starve at it than pursue other options.

The world in its entirety can be overwhelming. No one can know it all, do it all, or be it all. We would all have to find our little corner from where we would shine our lights and interact with the rest of the world.

To feel alive, to feel like they are making something out of their lives, to have the kind of blissful happiness attained when one is in ‘Flow’, people would need to find a way and medium for self-expression.

Rather than boxing your kids into stereotypes and predefined roles, you should follow the cues of their curiosities and help them find their own unique, self-nourishing, and self-fulfilling medium of (self) expression. This is one of the best things you can ever do for them and the society. Help them come alive. Society needs more people who have come alive.

The world needs more people who go about their day with a smile on their face. Not because adversities have ceased to exist, but because they are grateful for life even in the midst of adversities.