Why cynics will always be haters

Hey Freaking Nomads,

Last week someone, left a comment on one of our posts that I keep thinking about.

It said something like: "Must be nice to run away from real responsibilities."

I almost replied. Then I didn't.

Because what I've slowly figured out after years is that the cynics aren't actually arguing with you. They're arguing with something inside themselves.

I used to take it personally. Every "when are you going to get a real job," every "this isn't sustainable." I'd spiral and over-explain.

What a waste of energy that was!

Because I've noticed the loudest cynics usually share one trait: they've never tried the thing they're so sure won't work.

They're not speaking from experience. They're speaking from fear, and pointing it at you because you're a convenient target.

And honestly, some of them want you to fail a little. Not in a cartoon-villain way. But if you succeed, it means the safe road they chose wasn't the only road. That's uncomfortable. Easier to call you reckless than to sit with that.

So how do you prove them wrong? You don't.

I know that's an anticlimactic answer. But trying to "prove" anything to a cynic is a trap, because the goalposts move. Pay your bills nomading? "Yeah but what about a pension." Save for a pension? "Yeah but what about stability." It never ends, because the conversation was never really about you.

The only thing that actually shuts down a cynic is time plus a life that quietly works. Not arguments. Just showing up, year after year, still standing, still building, still choosing it.

That's not proving them wrong. That's just living in a way that makes the question irrelevant.

The best revenge isn't a clapback. It's a Tuesday where you're content, working from somewhere you love, not thinking about them at all.

So next time someone tells you it won't last, you don't owe them a debate.

You just keep going.

I'm curious though, what's the most ridiculous thing a cynic has said to you about this life? Hit reply, I want to hear it!

Luca

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I often write these newsletters on my phone. Just wherever inspiration ambushes me, which is usually when I'm walking alone somewhere new.

And while writing this one, I ran out of eSIM data. Again.

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