‘Cool’ is a word that has outlasted many generations. It’s something that seems to underly all of the new terminologies that the youth seems to imprint upon it. For example, ‘radical’ might have been a popular term in the early nineties. Unfortunately, ‘sick’ is a term that caught popularity in the first half of this decade. ‘Groovy, neat, nifty, hunky-dory’ are all terms that we’re most likely familiar with. They come and go, and fall in and out of modern trends.
But ‘Cool’ always remains. This is the one phrase that will never go out of fashion. We all know what it means. As the famous musician and rapper Andre 3000 once said: “what’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold!” It seems he was the only one to find something superior to the reliable term of cool.
But how can cool be quantified? What makes a person cool? In youth, we often find ourselves pre-occupied with this question. We know when we see it but aren’t sure how to emulate it. This feeling can last even up to adulthood. In this article, we hope to explore what ‘cool’ even is, and how we might apply it to our lives. Can we renegotiate with ourselves what cool means to us, and how to think of it in a more healthy fashion?
Well, let’s find out:
Confidence
Confidence is not something you can simply apply to yourself with ease. We all likely wish we had a little more of it. However, sometimes thinking this way can lead us to prevent gaining the very thing we covet. Confidence is not a mental trickery of the mind or a deception of our emotions. Like bravery, it is something we engage in despite feeling fearful and worried, potentially even anxious.
Confidence is what we begin to feel when our experiments seems to work for us. For example, it might be that you’re quite unnerved to begin a new job. However, with a little willingness to learn, and the right attitude, before long you’ll feel at home in these new surroundings. Confidence is what develops when you push forward and try despite how you feel, as you will distinctly show to yourself that you are capable even when you’re scared or worried. This doesn’t mean you should charge into every situation with the best wit and will at your disposal. Sometimes you need to make use of patience, and push into this environment with care. However, when you prove to yourself that you’re willing to employ bravery and move forward into new situations, you will build natural confidence and flair. This is a quiet confidence, a confidence that needn’t shout about its presence, but instead uses its own strength to help others, and live life with courage.
This kind of confidence is what could be defined as the backbone of cool, and it’s available for you to gain anytime.
Self-Respect
Self-respect is essential to build, but can easily leave us at any time. While it shouldn’t, and while you are likely much better than you ever give yourself credit for, it can be easy to lack this vital personal requirement. Self-respect is often the foundation of cool, something which allows you to take humble pride in your achievements, and wish to repeat your positive efforts to keep those sustained.
Self-respect can lead to many things. It is the backbone of discipline. It allows us to make the hard decisions that will benefit our families in the long-term compred to the easy decisions that benefit us now. This might mean saving money for the end of year vacation, or waiting a little longer before making that purchase. Self-respect also helps you lose weight, can help you apply the best of yourself in a work setting, and generally puts a smile on your face even in the hard times.
Self-respect also means grooming well, and dressing your family in a respectable and comfortable manner, allowing your children to build confidence too. When you have self-respect, you have a sense of care for your family name, perhaps something that would once be described as honor. This might be found in a family coat of arms, or perhaps purchasing and passing down a beautiful heirloom such as a high-quality watch, you can view here to gain this inspiration.
Why such emphasis on self-respect? Well, you are the only person you are finally and fundamentally responsible for in a total control sense. That means if you build this virtue, you will transfer it to your family, and every else you care about. Once, when we were children, it’s easy to recall how the ‘cool’ idea of the day was to seem uncaring, to let life pass us by without us really minding. This is not real cool. Real cool is caring deeply, emphathizing and trying to maintain the best version of ourselves. With self-respect as described here, you will find a real strength.
Humility & Expression
Humility is cool. It doesn’t shout about our achievements, but simply tries to enjoy their rewards, and to focus on finding more. However, much emphasis is put on humility, and sometimes people mistake this virtue for being closed off, lacking in communication, and never saying a good word about yourself. Of course, that is never the requirement here.
Humility is simply the art of expressing yourself appropriately, to the core of who you are. There is no shame in expressing yourself. From creative endeavors such as those found in the artistic fields, to learning an instrument and playing to your hearts content, to writing that pirate tale that just needs to be penned, our spirits are always maintained when in the presence of focusing on our craft. Humility is the ‘cool’ aspect of this that helps us focus on the craft, not the recognition we hope to achieve. It is feeling absolutely able to express ourselves and feel no shame for being who we are, while also thinking of how our expression affects others. Humility and expression, when balanced, will lead to perhaps the coolest creative outbursts you ever have.
In summary, what should you think about cool? How can it be quantified? Well, cool is cool because it doesn’t care about ‘being cool’ in the first place. With this in mind, you can live more authentically, for yourself, your family and your loved ones only, and enjoy life with a genuine joy. We hope (and know) you can achieve this.
