03/08/2025

ON SUNDAY August 3, 2025 theSunday Special IV

You don’t have ȳ ‚Œ ﮌ all the time

So you stay in your lane. You curate your emotions, not for your peace but to avoid “burdening” others. Eventually, even your closest people start believing the version of you you have been performing. :KHQ \RX ¿QDOO\ KLQW WKDW VRPHWKLQJ LV R̆ WKH\ EOLQN DQG VD\ ³

When being ‘okay’ becomes a performance, it might be time to let the act drop

BY CECELLIA FONG

Y OU have the routine down. Smile. Nod. Say, “I’m good, thanks.” Crack a small joke. Hold eye contact just long enough. Keep the conversation moving. Be polite. Be pleasant. Be okay. And maybe you are, mostly. You are managing. You are productive. You are not falling apart. But beneath the surface, something is wearing thin. The perfor mance of okay-ness becomes its own kind of weight and over time, pretending WR EH ¿QH FRPHV ZLWK D FRVW ,W QXPEV WKH nuance of your inner world – a world that still aches, worries and longs to be heard. The performance of stability It is subtle but exhausting. A twinge of sadness bubbles up and you swallow it. Someone asks how you are doing, and you GHÀHFW

Held together … being the strong one can come at a quiet cost.