If Society’s way isn’t the way, then what is?

“Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.”

Henry David Thoreau

“Follow your own way”

Out there in the world,
the vast majority of people are not on the path of their choosing.
Instead, they have resigned themselves to walk a path that society told them to walk upon and isn’t actually in alignment with their values, strengths, and choice.

And for most people out there, this
is a sad reality.
Which is why, it is all the more important to give ourselves to philosophy at least once in the beginning stages of our life,
just so that we can really think things through,
and build a solid foundation based on reason and a flexible strategy for our lives.

Society’s Procedure of draining our lives down the societal drain :

We do not ever consciously decide to pick a path.

Because we do not ever pick a path of our own liking at the conscious level, we get side-tracked into a path that is not of our choosing aka the society’s path.

Therefore, if we do not pick our path then we will, by default, be steered in the direction of a different path that we don’t really want to follow.

We fall into the trap of ‘cookie-cutter’ paths.

Society, at large, has convinced us that there are only a certain number of specific paths that we can follow. Which is the furthest thing from the reality.

There are a countless number of paths that we can take and it is within our power to create it, if we cannot find it already available to us. Thanks to society.

The path of being a doctor, pharmacist, dentist, and lawyer are still available, but the cookie-cutter days of conventional paths are long gone with the advent of the internet.

Also, one can’t really get a good life by following the conventional ways of impressing others anymore.

We need to listen to our own selves,
for ‘ourselves’.

Society tells us this, society tells us that.

Society knows nothing. Society’s a scaredy cat.

On another note,
Societies biggest flaw is that the members of each society have a tendency to believe that their customs and beliefs are better than others.

Almost everyone claims to be open-minded but in reality most people are not. People also refuse to admit their own prejudices, even to themselves.

The truth is we are all pretty self-centered. Yes, there are exceptions, but truthfully they are few and far between. It is just how we are designed; to think we are the center of the universe.

Judgments are passed on what is right and wrong constantly. In reality, what is right and wrong just depends on which side you are on. Take religion for example. For the most part each religion, the mainstream ones anyone, feels they they are fighting a war for the good of the God, or Gods, they worship. Both sides believe they are doing the right thing by,in a sense, using violence to honor their religion.

Have you ever heard the saying “there are 3 sides to every story: his side, her side and the truth.” Depending on where you stand, you are the good and righteous one.

It seems that society fails to recognize this as a whole. If everyone truly took the time to think about the others point of view and took the time to get to know the “enemy” we wouldn’t have any more wars!


And thus, the biggest advice to take away from this would be to never follow in the footsteps and narrow-minded ways of society.

How To Move Closer To Gaining Back Your Power :

Become a student of yourself.

Understand yourself at a deep level and get an understanding of what your strengths, weaknesses, values, and preferences are.

The more you understand yourself, the more you will be able to differentiate between a path that is that of others and a path that is that of your own.

Your opinion of yourself matters more than others’ opinion of you.

This seems to be a tough one for people who are dealing with the opinions of others.

But none except you have been with you for the longest period of time, day in and day out!
Also, people are looking at you from the lens of their own biases and insecurities too, and thus, they are barely ever right.
Therefore, weigh yourself on your own against your past-self, for your ‘own-self’.

It is YOUR life, don’t let the baseless opinions of others dictate where your path will lead you to.

Experiment with various paths that you have interests in.

To be able to choose a path, we must experiment with the paths that we have interests in.

If you are interested in health and wellness, move in that direction.

If you are interested in cooking, move in that direction.

If you are interested in baseball cards, move in that direction.

Follow your interests and experiment with a number of paths. This will allow you to see what you really like and it will help you clarify the path that you would like to walk.

Make your own judgement accurate and learn how to trust yourself.

Be your own decision maker in life. Yes, it is of immense value to take advice from others, but you must be the one taking the action and learning the lessons so that you can acquire wisdom.

To trust yourself is one of the most valuable skills to learn because you become comfortable with who you are and the type of decision that you make. This is the truest form of power because it is power over yourself — self mastery.

By following these mindsets, we will be able to move closer to a path that we choose to follow.

Conclusion :

Don’t become one who follows the majority and resigns their lives to that of the opinions of others. Instead, decide to make the most out of your life and get after it!

Question Of The Day

“What is a path that you are following that YOU chose, independently of others’ opinions?”