A False Sense Of Pressure To Conform
" Be neither a conformist or a rebel, for they are really the same thing. Find your own path, and stay on it" ― Paul Vixie
Why Do You Do What You Do?
Are you self-aware of the underlying reasons that could explain why you do the things you do on a day to day basis? We all come on this tiny blue planet with gifts to unfold and eventually share with the world. However, if you do things for the wrong reasons, that is, for any motive that is external to you, you will most likely miss the chance of not only discovering the real you, but also of impacting the world with the gifts that you may have never found within yourself.
The fact is that life is meant to be lived in a way that feels right to you.
You are You. No one is Youer than You are.
And what feels right to you, might not feel right to someone else, and that's completely fine! What would be the world if everyone was the same anyway?
One of the most ingrained beliefs of our culture is that we ought to follow a certain path that will lead us to what some may like to label as a " successful life". First of all, let me please say that I hate this label more than any other. Success. What is success anyway? I see it as a concept that one can assign any meaning he wants to it. If one attempts to reach success just for the sake of reaching success, he oughts to rethink his motives. And then what? You did what you felt you were "supposed" to do. You went to school. Got a degree. Started to work. Gradually climbed the ladders. Found a mate. Bought a house. Became parents. Traveled every so often.
If you did it because you intrinsically felt that this was your calling, than that is awesome! Keep on rocking. But on the other hand, if you did things the way you did them because you felt like it was "expected" of you, then that's not so great. But hey if that's your case, the good news is that life ain't over yet. This game of life ain't over till it's over! There's always another train to catch, and the only person that can stop you from catching the train that you were meant to be on is yourself.
Simply put...
Conformity Is A Product Of Society
You already know what it is, I ain't one to blindly do things just for the sake of doing them. If one day I feel like living in Costa Rica and help the mental health community over there while riding the waves with my (future) parrot, then so be it! If that's what feels right in my heart and soul at that time, then I must follow my inner guide.
At the end of the day, the only thing one should fear is to wake up one day and regret not having followed his heart. The truth is that you shouldn't fear being alone. You shouldn't fear leaving the job you've been staying at for 18 years. The truth is that you should fear staying in a relationship that is draining you. And you should fear staying at a job that doesn't fulfill you.
I'm Oatmeal and you can't get any more Oatmeal than me haha, take that in your pipe and smoke, I mean bowl and eat it haha, love what you are saying and that is why I shared and liked this post. I love philosophy and I love the value that individuals have in our world. People like you remind people like me of that all of the time and that is the beauty and the oatmeal of it all haha but truly and forever.
Awn!!! Thanks so much for your support and positive vibes! 🧡💜💚🙏🏻 It means a lot!
One love to the oatmeal fam! (I eat oatmeal every single morning so I feel the hype 😉)
I eat a lot of potatoes, too. Awesome. Thanks.
It feels good going in your own direction, it does tend to create resistance from those around you at times. I also guess also, the way society is structured, keeps people confined in a progressing type mode that makes them go through the motions of what they think they have to do.
Both the conformist and the rebel are tools of the manipulator. While the conformist is an easier tool, the rebel is a far better one. All the manipulator has to do is convince the rebel he desires the opposite of his actual desire. Once he does this, the rebel will do with zeal and intensity what the conformist would at best half heartedly do. For this reason above all others, I agree. Be neither a conformist nor a rebel. :)