It’s quite natural to care about your reputation. We’re social animals and it matters what others think of us. So, we tend to behave in a way that makes others respect and adore us. In that case, it’s obvious that we want to avoid embarrassing ourselves publicly. Say, by admitting that we might not know some basic information that pretty much everyone around us seems to know.
People spend a lot of time and energy trying to create an ‘ideal’ version of themselves that they present to others. However, chasing this ‘perfection’ has some downsides.
We might love others to think that we’re incredibly smart, graceful, strong, and wise, but it’s a very human thing to mess up. Everyone does it. Nobody’s perfect or immune to failure. So when someone finds out that we might not have known a basic fact—whether it’s something to do with science or history or is just a witty twist or observation—we feel embarrassed that how we’d like to be imagined doesn’t fit how others might see us.
One of the worst things that you can do when you feel called out or you embarrass yourself is to try and pretend that nothing has happened or get overly defensive. Running away from these feelings can morph into shame. Meanwhile, getting angry also isn’t the way to go.
However, by embracing all of those uncomfortable feelings, you start becoming more resilient to any further embarrassment you might have to deal with in the future. What’s more, people tend to respect others who show signs of mild embarrassment and know how to laugh at their own mistakes. Whether they messed up big-time or just recently found out that there are folks out there who eat their cereal with orange juice!
The Tonight Show wasn’t always hosted by Fallon. The show previously aired between 1957 and 1972, led by Jack Paar and Johnny Carson. After the show made a comeback on NBC in 2014, Fallon took the helm and is set to continue hosting it until at least 2026. Which means lots more awesome challenges to help us laugh the stress away.
We’d love to read what recent mind-blowing and funny facts about the world you’ve learned recently, Pandas. So why not drop by the comment section to share your thoughts with all the other readers? Meanwhile, don’t forget to tell us what you think of The Tonight Show’s latest challenge!
