I got an automated traffic ticket in the mail not too long ago. It was an ever-so-subtle reminder NOT to go 70mph in a 55mph zone when the traffic cameras are operational. After a painful $75 payment for my infraction, I resolved to pay attention to the “Photo Enforced” signs underneath the speed limit signs on the freeways (Apparently, they’re called “interstates” in the Midwest. Forgive me. I’m still learning the lingo.)
I was incredibly irritated when I got the ticket. The date the cameras “caught” me was almost three months before I actually received the ticket in the mail. Groan. How many more of these are headed my way once someone gets around to reviewing the cameras? It would’ve been nice for swift processing at the ticket office so I knew I needed to correct my behavior.
But who am I kidding? Am I actually correcting my behavior, or am I just putting on a good front when I know a camera is watching? Of course, I slow down before I get to that camera now. Of course, I’m a good little driver when I know there are consequences when I’m not.
Traffic cameras are basically karma with a flash. In approximately three months, your actions today will come back to bite your bank account in the butt. Congratulations to me (insert sarcastic mutterings).
Cameras, in general, are excellent temporary character fixers.
We want to look our best when the cameras are on. We strike poses. We smile. We pretend to have our acts together. We slow down to make a good impression.
Social media is the epitome of falsities when it comes to reality. We post pictures of our “best self” while we’re allegedly living our “best life.” Our narcissism values the “like” from a stranger over authenticity. Photo editing software overwhelmingly dominates the “influencers” of social media.
No one wakes up camera ready, but we’d love you to think so. In reality, every morning we all shuffle to the bathroom to pee and scare ourselves in the mirror because that intense bedhead rivals Chewbacca some mornings. #IWokeUpLikeThis
Not only that, but no one likes getting caught being fake because that invites scandal. There are plenty of politicians and Hollywood types whose violations came back to bite them in the butt later on.
Actions mean something, and they mean even more when we think no one is watching. Poor actions cost more in the long run (at least that’s true of my traffic violation).
So… if I’m not at my best but pretend I am, is that being inauthentic?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, wondering if authenticity involves a hard balance between suck-it-up and honesty. Sometimes there are jobs and tasks that need to get done no matter how I’m feeling that particular day. Sometimes I have to interact with people when all I want to do is escape people. But my attitude on a bad day doesn’t change the fact that I should be kind to those around me.
I think how I act on those “off” days says more about my authenticity than the easier days. It amazes me how shocked the world gets when a celebrity does something nice for others when they think no one is watching. Keanu Reeves was captured giving up his seat on a subway years ago, and people went nuts. Maybe Reeves is a genuinely nice guy. He didn’t appear to know he was being filmed. I have way more respect for someone like that than someone who donates millions to a good cause, brags about it on social media, and then treats a barista or Uber driver like dirt. People are completely capable of simultaneously doing “good” things while living as total jerks. Jerks eventually get caught being, well, themselves.
As I swallow my pride and absorb the fact that I may have been caught misbehaving on the Interstate over the past couple months, I forced to remember that my actions today have consequences later. It really doesn’t take much effort to be a decent person. I think that’s what people fail to realize on their “off” days while taking out their frustrations on others. The balance comes in recognizing our shortcomings while not letting them cripple our character.
It’s not about hiding a bad day or editing out the tough stuff for social media or camera purposes. It’s about being honest about it WITH character, and character is the same before, during, and after we pass the cameras.
Embracing the typos until next Monday,