I’ll be honest — the first time I heard this phrase, I had absolutely no idea what it meant. I’m a Gen X guy. We grew up on “no pain, no gain” and “get real.” So when someone cheerfully told me that being delulu is the selulu, I had to do some digging.
Turns out, it might be the most useful piece of life advice I’ve stumbled across in years.
So What Does It Even Mean?
“Delulu” is Gen Z slang for delusional — as in, having beliefs about yourself or your situation that are maybe a little… optimistic. Wildly, even. “Selulu” is a made-up rhyming word for “the solution.” Put them together and you get:
being delusional is the solution.
Now before you roll your eyes — hear me out.
It’s Not Actually About Being Delusional
What the phrase is really getting at is the power of unshakeable self-belief, even when the odds aren’t in your favour. It’s about applying anyway. Shooting your shot. Walking into the room like you belong there — even when a small voice in the back of your head isn’t so sure.
WE (Gen X) had “fake it till you make it.” Millennials had “manifest it.” Gen Z has being delulu — and honestly, I think their version is the most honest of all, because it comes with a knowing wink. They’re not pretending the odds are great. They know the odds are questionable. They’re just choosing cheerful, shameless optimism anyway.
There’s something almost radical about that.
Why This Hit Different For Me
Like a lot of people my age, I was raised to be realistic. Practical. Don’t get too big for your boots. And while there’s wisdom in that, there’s also a cost — because realistic thinking can slide, quietly and quickly, into self-limiting thinking.
How many things didn’t I try because I’d already talked myself out of them? How many rooms didn’t I walk into because I pre-decided I didn’t belong?
Being delulu, in its own goofy way, is a pushback against all of that. It’s permission to believe in yourself before you’ve earned the right to — which, if you think about it, is the only time believing in yourself actually counts.
The Practical Upside
Here’s the thing about optimism, even irrational optimism: it changes your behaviour. If you believe something good might happen, you act differently. You reach out. You apply. You start. You show up. And showing up is, as any Gen Xer knows, most of the battle.
Pessimism keeps you safe and small. A little delulu-ness gets you moving.
My Takeaway
I’m not about to start using “selulu” in everyday conversation — I do have some dignity. But the sentiment? I’m keeping it. Next time I’m about to talk myself out of something, I’m going to hear that phrase in the back of my head and think: what would the delulu version of me do here?
Probably something worth trying.
Keep going, brother.
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