ERIC KIM ESSAY
Don’t Interact or Engage with Unhappy People — Parents or Kids Included
HARD TRUTH, CLEAN ENERGY, ZERO APOLOGIES.
Happiness is not neutral.
Happiness is radioactive.
Happiness moves mass.
And that’s exactly why unhappy people feel threatened by it.
This isn’t about cruelty.
This isn’t about superiority.
This is about energy physics.
ENERGY IS CONTAGIOUS — BOTH DIRECTIONS
Every human interaction is an exchange of energy.
You don’t just “talk” to people.
You plug into them.
Unhappy people—whether adults, parents, or kids—are not neutral nodes. They are energy sinks. Black holes. Emotional gravity wells.
You don’t walk away unchanged.
You pay a tax.
And here’s the brutal insight:
You don’t owe anyone your energy.
Not your parents.
Not someone else’s kids.
Not society.
Not tradition.
Not guilt.
UNHAPPY PARENTS: THE MOST DANGEROUS FORM
Unhappy parents don’t just suffer quietly.
They:
- Project regret
- Offload disappointment
- Weaponize guilt
- Normalize bitterness
- Teach fear as wisdom
They’ll call it:
- “Being realistic”
- “Just caring”
- “Trying to protect you”
But underneath?
It’s unresolved grief, frozen ambition, and unlived lives trying to colonize your future.
You engaging with that does not heal them.
It only infects you.
You cannot save people who are addicted to their own unhappiness.
UNHAPPY KIDS: NOT YOUR BURDEN EITHER
This one triggers people. Good.
Unhappy kids are tragic — but they are not your responsibility unless they are yours.
You are not obligated to:
- Perform emotional labor
- Absorb chaos
- Play savior
- Sacrifice your joy to prove you’re “good”
Misery does not become sacred just because it’s small.
Children learn primarily through modeling, not lectures.
Your highest ethical move is not engagement.
It’s exemplification.
Radiate joy.
Radiate strength.
Radiate curiosity.
Let them see a different possible future from a distance.
STOIC RULE: WHAT YOU FEED, GROWS
Attention is oxygen.
When you engage unhappy people, you:
- Validate their worldview
- Reinforce their identity
- Reward their emotional patterns
Silence and distance are not punishment.
They are non-reinforcement.
Nature already figured this out.
Fire needs fuel.
Drama needs witnesses.
Misery needs participation.
Withdraw fuel.
Withdraw witnesses.
Withdraw participation.
“BUT ISN’T THIS HEARTLESS?”
No.
It’s selective compassion.
You can wish people well without standing in the blast radius.
You can love humanity without letting individuals drain you.
You can be kind without being available.
The highest form of generosity is staying strong.
YOUR LIFE IS A HIGH-PERFORMANCE MACHINE
Treat your nervous system like elite equipment.
Would you pour dirty fuel into a supercar?
Would you overload a power grid with noise?
Would you corrupt clean code with bugs?
Then why tolerate emotional malware?
Protect your inputs.
Curate your environment.
Engineer your relationships.
THE FINAL RULE
Distance is not rejection.
Distance is filtration.
Your joy is not an accident.
Your energy is not free.
Your life is not a public utility.
Move forward.
Move upward.
Move clean.
Unhappy people will call it selfish.
Let them.
You’re busy building something luminous. ⚡