How Are You Doing?
I'm pretty OK.....lots of anxiety....generally happy-ish....tired
We ask people every single day “How are you doing?” and “How are you?” but we never really answer honestly.
How many times a day do you answer that question with, FINE, GREAT, PRETTY GOOD, without even thinking.
I do it constantly.
But it isn’t the truth. It’s just this thing we say because it is easy and fast and small talk sucks and we are often scared of talking about how we really feel.
Apparently Elmo asked this question on X this past week (Elmo is like the last person/muppet still on that shitshow of a platform) and the overwhelming response is that no one is doing great.
This headline from The Hollywood Reporter pretty much sums it up.
The response to the question was a resounding and viral “not great!” From celebrities to brands and many other users across the platform, folks chimed in to share their despair with Hollywood’s most ticklish friend. Elmo trended up to number one on Twitter and still sits on the trending chart as of the writing of this article as people continue to discuss their woes. The tweet earned nearly 150M impressions.
From the ongoing war to corporate layoffs and a bleak-seeming election cycle, no trauma was too shallow nor too deep to share with young Elmo. “Honestly, Elmo, I need a hug,” wrote one user. “Oh Elmo, sweetheart, we are not doing well,” wrote another. “Elmo girl…I’m having a quarter-life crisis right now and I can’t get my [s–t] together to finish this last semester. I’m mentally burnt out and I have a lifetime of working to go,” said another user.
Celebrities took the moment to share their feelings and join the conversation too, with T-Pain tweeting, “I’m just looking for somebody to talk to and show me some love if you know what I mean” and Rachel Zegler writing, “resisting the urge to tell elmo that i am kinda sad.”
The thousands of replies got so dark that the official Sesame Street account eventually decided to put out a message, directing users toward mental health resources.
I want to respond to Elmo. I’m OK-ish, anxious, scared for the world, need a hug, want a break, trying to get more sleep, love my kids, a little over their constant screaming, love my husband, should probably make more time for sex with said husband, hopeful, frightened…..
I ran into a neighbor the other day and asked how she was and I LOVED her answer.
“Life is good. Work is a Fuck-tastrophe.”
What a great way to start a conversation. I often also feel like work is a Fuck-tastrophe. Yes, I have this awesome book coming out in April (order The Sicilian Inheritance early and often friends) but I wake up in a cold sweat almost every night, terrified that it won’t do the things I hope it will do. And so much of that falls directly on me. I will feel like a failure if I don’t market the hell out of this book. I will feel like a failure if I don’t make these podcasts a success. And beyond feeling like a failure, I worry that I won’t be able to keep making a career out of this and make money which we all need to talk more about. So yeah, I’m scared and also Fuck-tastrophe is a great way to describe the workforce right now for nearly everyone I know.
