How to connect trends with what you want to do

I think April 1st is the day when "lies" walk around most confidently in the entire year.

Companies tell lies,
individuals tell lies,
and even lies that would usually be frowned upon
are accepted on this day alone with a "well, it's April Fool's Day, after all."

It's a convenient day.

But every time I see April Fool's Day, I think about something a little different.

Rather than the lies we tell others,
I wonder what kind of lies we tell ourselves.

Like thinking you can still keep going when you're actually exhausted.
Like telling yourself this is the right answer even though you feel something is off.
Like putting off something you actually want to do, telling yourself you're not at that stage yet.

These kinds of lies aren't cute.
But they work quite quietly.

They work slowly, and before you know it, they stop you in your tracks.

Lately, I've been thinking about content creation, and I think
jumping on trends isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Because there's a topic, it's easy to create an entry point,
and it's quite natural as a way to get people to read your work.

But if you try to just ride the trend,
your own words can suddenly die.

I know what I should write.
I know what seems to be in demand.
But when I try to write it, it feels somehow thin.

It's polished.
But it's a little dead.

Like a zombie, it has a form, but no body heat.

I think anyone who creates content has experienced this at least once.

Should I write what is demanded?
Should I write what I want to do?

There's an atmosphere that makes it seem like a binary choice,
but I feel it's not actually that simple.

I think what's important
isn't whether or not you jump on a trend,
but whether you can speak from the center of your work is what I believe.

In my case, what lies at the center of my work is
creative conception
.

I don't know what I want to do.
Even if I try hard, it doesn't pay off.
Something is wrong, but I can't put it into words well.
Helping people in that state find what they truly want to do and start living their days as their own, little by little.

This is at the core of my work.

So even if the topic changes,
if I can connect it to that, I can speak in my own words.

For example, on April Fool's Day,
rather than "how to tell a good lie,"
I'm more interested in what kind of lies we tell ourselves.

Even though it's already too much.
Even though I know it's different now.
Even though there's something I want to try.

Even so, people
sometimes tell themselves strangely reasonable lies,
like "I'm not prepared enough,"
"now isn't the right time,"
or "I'll do it after I get my act together."

What's more, these kinds of lies are usually mostly true.
They aren't complete fabrications.
That's what makes them tricky.

Almost true.
But within that "almost," there's a mechanism for putting off your true feelings.

This is similar when it comes to sharing content.

If you just jump on a trend, it stops being your own words.
But if you keep avoiding trends, then it won't reach anyone.

I think many people get stuck in between these two.

I'm the same way.

If I lean too much into what's expected, it suddenly becomes extrinsic.
I should write this.
But then I don't want to write it.
I feel this quite often.

Conversely, if I only hold onto what I want to do,
then sometimes I lose the entry point.

So what's needed
isn't just jumping on a trend,
or just protecting yourself,
but finding the intersection between your core and the topic.

For April Fool's, it's lies.
For the new fiscal year, it's the anxiety of having to become someone.
For birthdays, it's less about age and more about the fear of updating yourself.
For the end of the year, it's a self-grading competition disguised as reflection.

The topic changes every time.
But if you can see the core of your work,
you can think about how to build a bridge to it.

I think people who never run out of ideas
aren't necessarily people who know a lot of topics,
but people who can build a bridge from their own core to anything.

That's why I don't think jumping on trends is bad in itself.

However, if I just jump on them as they are, I die a little inside.
At least, I do.

So, if I'm going to jump on a topic,
I want to make sure I return to the core of my work first.

If the words come out again through that process,
I feel they become a part of that person's worldview little by little,
rather than just being current events.

So, perhaps on April 1st,
along with thinking of a lie to make someone laugh,
it might be good to take a brief look at the 'plausible lies' you tell yourself.

Things you are trying to convince yourself are still okay.
Things you tell yourself are the right answer, even though they feel wrong.
Things you want to try, but keep suppressed by telling yourself you need to be more prepared first.

I feel that finding just one of those things
can be the gateway to reclaiming your own words as your own once again.

For those who feel stuck between what is expected of them and what they want to do,
I find the pain or themes hidden deep within and turn them into stories.