Breaking Down My Post That Went Viral (17k+ Shares) Because I Felt Everything

People stole it and they got 3x more likes and shares than me, but oh well...

The moment the Inside Out 2 movie ended, I felt it: the urge to write out all the emotions inside me.

The husband and kid were talking about the movie, but I kept quiet—immersing in my feelings, holding on to most of them. I was praying we would get home as quickly.

Because I needed to write it out so bad!!!

When we got home, I headed straight to my glass office and opened my laptop. Didn’t overthink it. Didn’t plot a hook.

I just wrote, heart pumping.

And when I hit publish? The likes, comments, and shares poured in.

The next morning, I woke up to my first-ever viral post staring back at me:
12k likes. 17k shares. 360+ comments.

Other creators copied it, and some got more shares and likes than I did.

And honestly? I didn’t feel bad for the most part.

Because it proved one thing: I really went viral because of my own thoughts.

And I value data more anyway—so when I saw their posts go viral too? I felt a weird excitement. lol.

But no, I didn’t bother blurring names. Copying is not cute.

Anyway.

I didn’t try to go viral.

I was just letting my raw thoughts out. I was so connected to the movie because the principles are the base foundations of my Authentic Content Visibility Course or ACVC.

(I hate my Signature Course name, seriously. But it stuck. So here we are. haha.)

I literally wanted to jump inside the cinema because I can feel the storyline so much… The stream of consciousness…
The past memories that shape us…
The moments where do something out of character and our entire belief system shatters down… Our brain chemistry altered… We know we’ll never be the same…

I’m having goosebumps right now.

So again, I didn’t try to go viral.

But maybe that’s the point.
Because that post wasn’t “content.” It was expression.

It was Glimmer Writing.

✨ What is Glimmer Writing?

It’s the writing you do when you’re at the peak of your emotions.

The kind of writing that injects each word with feeling—so much that it jumps off the screen and rubs off on the person reading it. It’s the kind of writing that makes people whisper:

“I’ve felt that. But I never knew how to say it.”

(Okay, I’ll do a full breakdown of Glimmer Writing soon.)

But for now, let’s get nerdy. Let’s talk about the psychology of why this post worked.

🧠 Why My Inside Out 2 Post Went Viral

At the time, I was deep-studying viral content writing.

I was reading Contagious by Jonah Berger—a book recommended by B2B creator Sierra Nicole, (who, let’s be honest, goes viral like it's a side hustle).

The book lays out 6 reasons things catch on, known as the STEPPS Framework:

1. Social Currency – People share things that make them look good or in-the-know.

2. Triggers – Top-of-mind means tip-of-tongue; we talk about what we’re primed to think about.

3. Emotion – High-arousal emotions (like awe, anger, or anxiety) increase sharing.

4. Public – If something is built to show, it’s built to grow. (Think of the iPod’s white earbuds.)

5. Practical Value – People like to share useful or helpful information.

6. Stories – People don't just share information, they tell stories. Embedding your idea in a story helps it travel.

Looking back, I realized my post hit all six.

1. Social Currency

“People share things that make them look good.”

✅ Relatable and introspective without being preachy.
People felt proud sharing it because it signaled emotional intelligence, growth, and self-awareness.
✅ Clever humor (“thanks for the cardio, Anxiety”) — readers felt witty by association.
✅ Writing about Inside Out 2? It’s timely, pop-culture fluent.

Sharing it was a low-key way to say: "I'm emotionally deep AND pop-culture aware."

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2. Triggers

“Top-of-mind = tip-of-tongue.”

✅ I posted it right in the middle of the Inside Out 2 buzz.
That movie is the trigger — and my post attached itself to that emotional wave like a slug to human skin (lol, sorry bad example).
✅ Everyone who had just watched the movie felt that fresh tug in their chest.
✅ Those who didn’t? They probably resonated with Joy’s breakdown. It tapped into a deeper adult reality that rides right alongside a beloved children’s character.
That juxtaposition = sticky.

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3. Emotion

“When we care, we share.”

People always feel something. This post is a rollercoaster of emotions:

• Nostalgia (“my dream was to be happy…”)

• Humor (“thanks for the cardio, Anxiety”)

• Awe (faith, identity, joy as strategy)

• Relief and comfort (naming hard feelings with compassion)

• Vulnerability (I didn’t write in a dramatic way, but I still let it out. That time I was still dealing with the breadcrumbs of anxiety. I wanted to cry inside the cinema because I know exactly how it feels. Haha. I want to cry now, but I got it under control.)

🔥 High-arousal emotions — especially awe + amusement + anxiety + sadness — are ideal cocktail ingredients for virality. Especially AWE!

This didn’t just provoke feeling. It made people feel seen. And when we feel seen, we hit share.

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4. Public

“Built to show, built to grow.”

✅ Emotional confessions wrapped in character metaphors = highly “reshare-safe.”
It gave readers a way to talk about their own emotional spectrum without oversharing — they could repost your words instead of finding their own.

I get this all the time after I glimmer write, “Natumbok mo”.

In English, you hit the nail on the head with regards to how I’m feeling. I get messages saying they cry a bit after reading my post even though I don’t try to be sad in my posts. lol. Like, I wasn’t trying to hurt you, I was merely saying what I felt too, but let’s hug because we felt this together.

✅ Visually imagined emotions (Inside Out characters) are already public, so this felt familiar and comfortable to circulate.

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5. Practical Value

“Useful = shareable.”

✅ There were no “tips,” but people probably walked away with:

• A new perspective on Joy

• A reframe for hard emotions (Envy = growth kick, Sadness = company, Fear = keeping humans alive since Old Stone Age)

• A framework: Joy as a strategy

All that = emotionally practical.

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6. Stories

“Narratives carry messages better than facts.”

✅ This is a story — a personal arc, starting with Joy’s breakdown and ending with her redemption. Credits to Pixar for this. I just had to retell it.
✅ It taps into a universal myth: the return of light after darkness.
But I probably told it through my own quirky, emotionally specific voice. In the cinema, I was already cherry-picking the highlights I want to include in the post because I FELTTT them.

I want to honor every character. I want to talk about our core beliefs and how they shape us. And when joy broke down—as a naturally joyful person—that was my breakdown. Which means, it must be the climax in my opening.

That made the post feel human, I guess.

📌 TL;DR:

My “Joy broke down too” post went viral because it was:

• Timely (Inside Out 2 trigger)

• Emotionally layered and comforting

• Funny + profound (a rare pairing)

• A framework disguised as a confession

• Shareable without oversharing

📌 I planned to feel.

To capture the ache and wonder before it disappeared.
To write like I meant it.

Like I always do except if I’m in chest-deep with personal problems.

I don’t like performative rawness—they never work anyway. I just want to write to remember and share.

Ahhh, Glimmer Writing.

It’s what makes your words shimmer with something deeper than strategy:
Authenticity. Rawness. Human.

Stay close—I’ll be sharing more soon. For now, maybe just ask yourself when you’re writing:

Am I writing because I want something to spread—
or because something real needs to be said?

Do I write for reach… or for relief?

Am I pushing emotions into my work… or letting emotion guide the flow?