Curiosity, Decisiveness & Resilience | Taryn Southern*

What sparks your interest? Do you often pursue your interest till the very end? Have you been to situations that warrant you to change your way of thinking? Are you decisive enough to share your pain and resilient enough to bear the criticisms? As someone who has been at the digital age's infancy stage, Taryn Southern shares how she committed to her aspirations till the end.

Taryn Southern is an American artist, comedian, filmmaker, singer-songwriter, and tech enthusiast. Recognized with her work on the sci-fi documentary “I AM HUMAN” that narrates human brain implants’ future and created the first AI-composed album, she sets the world ablaze with her creative and out-of-the-norm perspective in digital technology. In my talk with Taryn, she emphasized creativity, challenging the unknown, and the importance of resiliency in a world where everything seems directed.

Taking the first step is one of the most significant challenges to conquer. The moment you allow someone to backseat the way you deal with life, you already lose in the game of life. Grasp your life at your own hands and never waver on the faith that you believed. Life is never a race; take everything one step at a time.

Stay Curious in the Midst of Uncertainty

Thousands of years passed since humans step foot on the planet. In these arduous years, we're still unable to explore our world thoroughly. Humans' inherent fear of the unknown has remained true, but precisely because of this fear why we continue to thrive. We might fear the unknown, but the thing we should worry about is the human heart. We all function differently, and it is all down to how we communicate with one another. In the midst of uncertainty, ask yourself what you can learn in a space that does not exist and how you will leverage that uncertainty to create an opportunity for yourself. Stay curious and dive into the things that others failed to see and could not explore—more often than not, you will find the treasure meant for you.

Decisive to be Different

People often find comfort in groups, comfort in trends, and comfort on a path paved by others. These factors start from how we were grown, our respective educational systems, and the influence we get from our households to friends to social media. Many successful personalities set themselves apart from other people by luck, charm, talent, and opportunities—propelling to careers and achievements meant for them. Challenge yourself to experiment and show firm decisiveness to be different. Ask yourself why it should always be what’s the norm and not go against it. It is not an act of foolery but bravery—to pave a path for yourself and not from others.

Resiliency to Challenges

We all have our respective aspects of strength. Mind, faith, relationship-building, empowerment, etc., but the most crucial element is our heart. We suffer, toil, and survive our most significant challenges. It made us successful and better the version of ourselves. Faced with people who challenge to crack your vision out of malice, or personal benefits, stay resilient to your vision. Persistence is the enemy of criticisms. You might fail in the endeavors you wanted to achieve but remain proud that you have persisted till the end. Not everyone has the sheer perseverance to stay to their aspirations—people quit halfway because they were not resilient enough.

Our responses differ in the magnitude of the challenges we encounter. We might feel despair finding out our weakness or hope when extended by an olive branch. In the end, the only person who can help us is none other than ourselves. Experiencing these challenges will only do good for us, and in the future, when you look back in time, you might laugh at your weakness or take pride in being strong enough to break the shackles of fear. In Taryn’s words: “Everything goes through an evolutionary process.”