10 Secrets To Being Cool

Are you cool? Do people want to hang out with you? Would you hang out with yourself? You can spend a lifetime trying to find the cool or you can immediately up your cool factor with these 10 secrets:

1. Develop your interests: Cool people always have that thing going on that they like to do. Mountain climbing? Check. Collecting film noir posters? Double check. Making video mash ups? Why not? Take a look around, find out what interests you, and pursue that interest above a beginner level. You just gave yourself a bunch of cool points.

2. Don’t spend every weekend at the bar. It’s a wide world out there, so spending every weekend at the bar is an easy way to show everyone that you don’t have any hobbies beyond drinking. Plus, the drinking/hangover/recovery cycle is sure to not get you anywhere one year from now.

3. Stop over-using words that everyone else is using. Like “aggressive.” Yolo, cray, and hashtag anything are also over. Stringing together words for a hashtag picture caption will never make you witty or cool.

4. Ignore fashion trends. Cool people don’t just copy what they see other people wearing. If you’re buying a jean jacket because they’re in and getting a tattoo because that’s the thing these days, you’re on the dark path to uncoolness. And to looking like everyone else.

5. Find your style. Wear it. Instead of having a constantly rotating closet of items that are passing trends, find some quality pieces that you really like and that can be with you for the long haul (i.e., life). Wear those things repeatedly and with confidence, and make sure to take good care of them.

6. Never, ever name-drop anyone or anything. Being cool does not come from connecting your name to fame or pointing out the obvious. Uncool.

7. Curate your social media content. If no one has to wonder what you’ve been up to this weekend or what you’re thinking, you’ve effectively killed the mystery. Less is more here.

8. Stop going to parties just to be seen. No one remembers or cares that you made an appearance if you didn’t have a genuine conversation with someone at the party. It’s better to go to one party and really connect with someone than to hit five just to say you were there.

9. Read. Skimming the headlines and your Twitter feed doesn’t count. Cool people have depth, and you get depth from reading. Read things that fall outside of your comfort zone or challenge your brain. Write a letter to the editor or direct message the author your thoughts. If you get a response back—ultra cool.

10. Make friends with someone who is not like you. If you and your friends look like clones of each other, it’s time to branch out. Cool people have lots of different friends. Being friends with someone who is not like you will open you up to new ideas, new social circles, and maybe even a new way of looking at the world. It will also spice up your Facebook newsfeed.