Noble Calling or Eff It - I'm Out of Here?
Why Did This Video Go Viral This Weekend? (link to official video 2016)
Has your algorithm inundated you with the penguin walking off to the mountains, leaving behind the colony and its food source, where there is no food, water, or society? Some took it as the penguin saying, "Eff it - I am sick of this." I think we all can relate on some level to societal and people's expectations of all of us. But...
Maybe the penguin is ill, either mentally or physically? Maybe this is a noble gesture, not to get his colony ill?
OR?
Nature is metal. Maybe the penguin is being sent out from the colony for any instinctual reasoning (ill, no breeding partner, cannot provide)? Who knows, but this may have hit you in the feels for a variety of reasons – maybe your own journey in life:
I find my own journey to be sort of the penguin journey. From joining the military when none of my friends were. From going to BUD/S and serving in the SEAL Teams to getting out and coaching, versus countless recommendations to stay in or go corporate. I just wanted to do my own thing. I think I didn't want to work for anyone else anymore.
Many who come to train with me left behind people in their group who thought, "they should get a real job," or did not understand why they wanted to serve their country or community in the tactical professions. Leaving a friend group to train and prepare for this journey is often labeled crazy or obsessed, but when they arrive here, they find a new friend group of like-minded people who understand.
Go find your tribe! That is how I interpreted this viral video.
Here is my interpretation of the video:
Tap here for full video response
I don't claim to be a penguin expert, though I do find them fascinating. Nor am I a psychologist. But, if you really think about it, this penguin journey resembles many who seek to invent, create, or build something different, and do so on their own - when everyone around you doubts you. Being an entrepreneur is never an easy choice, filled with hard work, long days and nights, but you are free. Maybe that penguin resembles the American or entrepreneurial spirit to you? Or, just being different and embracing it with all of your being?
Regardless, the video/meme captured many of our imaginations and hit us somewhere between "I like to do my own thing" and "I'm sick of societal expectations." I think it is safe to say we all fall somewhere on that spectrum. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.
The ChatGPT Answers - Key Themes of the "Nihilist Penguin"
Motion Without Meaning: The penguin represents continuing to move forward even when the purpose or destination is lost, mirroring burnout or existential dread.
- Resist vs Exist: The penguin doesn't resist; it simply exists and acts. This penguin may be tired of eating, sleeping, surviving, finding a mate, and procreating.
- Individualism vs. Herd Mentality: The penguin rejects the safety of the colony (society) for a personal, albeit fatal, path.
- Relatability in 2026: The image represents silent burnout, the desire to "walk away" from life's demands, and finding peace in disconnection.
- It is framed not as a tragedy, but as a quiet, honest acceptance of a lonely, self-chosen path.
- Done with this Sh*t - The meme has been widely used to convey the feeling of being "done" with the routine, highlighting a "2026 mood" in which simply walking away from the "colony" feels more authentic than continuing the cycle.
But this is what art does. Like it or not, viral videos are a new type of art. Makes you think about how you relate to something else that runs deep in the human spirit. Whatever you decide in life, go 100% toward it and Never Quit!
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