Conforming to society is one way to live your life. You can get a job that someone dredged through before you got there. Going through the motions as you answer to your boss. Complaining to your friends and family that you hate your job, but that you have to keep working there. Buying things to make you feel better about yourself because you “deserve” them.
“If they give you lined paper, write the other way.”
- Ray Bradbury
The other, better way to live your life is to go against the grain. Stand up to authority when they are being abusive. Tell people what you really think at work instead of being timid all the time. Advocate change in the world around you. It is better to be hated for who you are than loved for who you aren’t.
The generation gap that recent college graduates experience when they enter the working world can cause them to do one of two things.
- They can conform to the conventions of the organization they join.
- They can bring in fresh ideas and change the group for the better.
Those are the only choices there are. You either roll with the punches and become another cog in the machine or you speak up and influence revolution.
Life is too short to just simply base it off the expectations of others. When you wake up in the morning, think to yourself who is in charge of your life. The answer should always be you. As you go through your day, remember that no one has more control over your life than you do.
Don’t let yourself conform to society. Create your own life based on the things you want and treat your career the same way.
Answer first to no one but yourself.
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Very simple, but very powerful message here Caleb. If ANY organization is serious about its future, the drive and energy of those that want to make a difference needs to take precedence over the comfortable path. It’s up to those that want to make a difference to decline conformity, and at least plant the seeds for change!
Exactly. Change can’t happen if every one sticks to the comfortable path. Influencing positive change can make your job a much better environment.
I love this post, Caleb. I think too many people walk around conforming to society rather than simply being who they are. Thankfully, I’ve always stood up for my own beliefs and chosen to be whoever the hell I wanted to be.
It’s come in handy many times.
I will carry the phrase, “Answer first to no one but yourself” with me for a long time.
Taking a stand for your beliefs is a great habit to build Tara. Its not always easy to do this but it definitely leads to a life filled with what you want to be doing instead of what others dictate you to do.