Have you ever tried to live by your own rules?

[Diend]

To keep things simple: we've all grown up with society's expectations of who we need to become and things we need to accomplish to appear favorable in society's eyes. That route is getting harder and harder for me and it is making me feel sad for a lack of better adjectives. So I thought: "why not live by your own standards of what is 'cool' or 'admirable'?" This is exactly what the nerd or stoner counterculture does, right?

 

[jc972]

"Living by your own standards of what is 'cool' or 'admirable'" IS cool and admirable, IMO. A lot of countercultures do this. Why not individuals?

 

[luiface]

Arnold Schwarzenegger - "Who do YOU want to be in life?" - YouTube

 

[Capsaicin]

I don't understand how to live by society's rules in the first place. It's impossible for me not to do it my way.

Society says I should be hypersexual, slobber over fantasy romances, wither away when not attached to a partner, be wary of forming long-term and serious non-romantic and non-familial attachments, work a job I hate and loathe working, drink, screw, party, be social, enjoy small talk, enjoy light and inoffensive talk, be energized through socializing, seek status, seek excitement, and more things that simply don't make sense or particularly affect me.

 

[Kiwong]

Yes I do live by my own rules, very independently. It doesn't make my life easier. Mixing with society is a necessary thing, to make a living, I prefer to live my own way whenever I get the chance, I don't feel pressure to conform.

 

[jaim38]

I don't understand how to live by society's rules in the first place. It's impossible for me not to do it my way.

Same for me. I try to live by my rules at home, but out in public it's a different ballpark where I have to fake a lot of stuff. Like they say "fake it till you make it?"

 

[LoyalXenite]

I think a combination is required, be yourself but at the same time there are some social rules that must be maintained to avoid a complete meltdown of society. Be who you are and live a life that makes you happy, but dont hurt others in the process... Thats my opinion at least

 

[Flanscho]

Well, in my early twenties I moved out of my parents flat, 400km away to another city to share a flat there with others, to overcome my SA and become more independant. Did that for about a decade, and last year I moved into my own flat. Works pretty well.

 

[Hellhound]

I do to an extent. This isn't my house, so I have to respect some rules, but I have my own rules for other things. I've never lived by society's rules because I consider myself an individual.

 

[Srijita52]

I think for me, what works is a little bit of both. Some people can live by their own standards, I have a friend like that, he doesn't need many people and is fine by himself most of the time. Which I think is great sometimes. That's not who I am though, I need people, I'm not an object oriented person and for that I do need to go by some of the society's "standards", not all of them though as I also like being independent.