Popularity

Many before have tried to define it, to pin down that secret quality that grants some enormous armies of followers while leaving others out in the rain. All of these searchers have one thing in common: they want to be more popular. This is their downfall, for, indeed, the one thing that the popular people share is unrealization of their own popularity. It may be pointed out that some popular people do notice it; however, by noticing their own popularity, they get caught up in the social system, and are constantly forced into overthinking themselves and attempting to become still more popular. This redefining of themselves as lacking in popularity inevitably leads to their fall, as they lose the characterisitics that drew to them such a large audience of friends in the first place.

What is the key, then? How can one be popular? The answer, counterintuitively, is by not trying to be popular so much as to interact with people on a regular basis, to have a lot of friends. For confidence is one liked, and, via the golden rule, through treating other people as friends and not as subjects does one gain and maintain what some call "popularity". True popularity is only being nice to people and being oneself to people, so they feel free to be the same around you, and it's not all that difficult to achieve, requiring only that one first rid themselves of the illusion of social systems and treat everyone else like equals.

B: Hey, man, isn't it weird how our school doesn't have any popular people?
M: Dude, don't you get it? That means we're the popular people! Sweet, all of our hanging out with our friends and posting pictures on facebook has made everyone jealous and given them senseless idealizations of our personal characters! What do you think we should do now to maintain our popularity?
B: I dunno, man, have more parties?
M: Yeah, let's do that! After all, we have plenty of peons who would enjoy basking in our personal limelights!

*weeks pass*

B: What happened, man? Nobody likes us anymore!
M: What do you mean, nobody likes you, everyone loves me!
B: No. No, they don't. They think we're both assholes for turning what used to be fun time spent hanging out with friends into social legitimization. Shit.

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