I swear I’m right, swear I knew it all along

March 25, 2018 1:57 PM

Here’s my favorite horror movie trope.

There are aliens or zombies or killer clowns shambling around town, terrorizing the locals. And there’s that one little kid who seems to be the only person who sees it.

But nobody believes him. He’s obviously crazy. Everything’s fine.

At which point, the monster usually jumps out of nowhere and devours everyone, leaving nothing behind but a pool of blood and that child looking on, thinking to himself:

I tried to warn you.

Turns out, though, this cinematic cliché is a universal human experience. Because eventually, we all find ourselves trapped in the same paranoid moment. A situation where we think to ourselves

There’s no way it’s just me who feels this way. I can’t be the only one. Does anyone else smell this?

And the maddening part is, there’s no way to tell if we’re completely crazy or perfectly lucid.

And so, we just sit there, feeling helpless and alone in our frustration and confusion. Hoping and praying for vindication.

I once worked for a company that underpaid and overworked and manipulated and neglected their employees. Myself included.

But because it was my first job, I had nothing to compare it to. There was no way to know if my experience was a product of the geography, the industry or the organization itself.

It wasn’t until years later when I joined a different employer in the same industry and same city that I finally realized:

Oh wow, I was right all along. Those guys were total assholes. I’m less of a freak than I originally thought.

That’s vindication. It’s profoundly freeing.

If you find yourself wondering if you’re the only one, trust the process enough to prove you wrong in due time.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Do you feel so alienated that you forget you’re not alone?* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com