Like, why do we worry so much about following society’s rules? Who even imposed these rules on us? Why are they so freaking important?
And then it hit me: Because we have been raised our whole lives to follow these rules. “You can’t follow that career, it won’t suit you”, “You have to study, graduate and then marry”, “You can’t quit your job, you are not meant to be an entrepreneur!”
If you are a kid born and raised in Indian middle class and reading this, you’d know what I am talking about.
These precepts are foisted upon us throughout our lives. It’s ridiculous! And we follow them and constantly promote them even though we, ourselves, are sick of them?
I say it’s about damn time we learned how to break the rules, how to separate what society tells us is good or bad and actually do what’s best for US, and for our future, regardless of what anyone else has to say about it.
Rules are meant to be broken
First off, let me clarify something: There are rules that are necessary. You know like not doing bodily harm to somebody or not littering because it’s bad for the environment… Those are non-negotiable, so please keep following them.
But there are other kinds of rules. The ones that have turned into gospel over the time and our friends, parents, teachers, relatives drill them into us. And you know damn well what kind of rules I’m talking about.
How many times have you felt sad because your life doesn’t fit society’s norms? How many times have you felt exhausted trying to do what everyone tells you to instead of carving your own path?
Yep, I’ve been there too, and I’m sure many are there right now. The point is, you are feeling like that because you aren’t living your life! You are just following some stupid set of rules!
What I’m getting at is: Rules aren’t some sort of path to success like most people make’em out to be.
Rules are meant to keep you in a controlled path and you need to start questioning that!
Break the rules!
Why you shouldn’t be afraid of breaking the rules
Those who have never taken a massive action in their entire lives to fulfill their dreams often come up with a set of norms to keep others at bay.
Listen, if you are hanging out with losers, status-quo-romantics, and fence-sitters, they won’t leave any stone unturned to make sure you end up like them, too.
So you see, others made the rules, and there is no reason why you should let others control YOU?
Breaking the rules is 100% okay.
Nobody ever became great by following the rules step by step.
You know those awesome entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Elon Musk? Or screw that, even One direction for I know of… They became great because they stopped following others’ rules and created their own.
- Bill Gates never followed the “Graduate college and then become successful” rule, because he KNEW he had more to offer.
- When Elon Musk sold PayPal to eBay, every business pundit thought Musk would ease into another financial venture. Instead, he established two companies – Tesla and SpaceX – that weren’t even remotely connected to the world of finance. He busted the ‘stick to your DNA‘ rule.
- One Direction flipped a birdie to establishment and didn’t follow the stereotypical rules of how to be a boyband and soon became the biggest boyband in the world.
All these people did not want to follow some made-up path, they wanted their very own.
And you should too!
Seriously, you need to start thinking outside the box, question absolutely everything anyone tells you and improve yourself and get what you want!
If you’re still doubting about breaking the rules or not, here are some very good reasons I put together as to why you should definitely break the rules (and don’t feel guilty about it):
- Rules are made up: They are created by people in power and sometimes by society itself, there isn’t a great God creating these rules, it’s just people! Don’t let them control you.
- Rules are made to be questioned: Don’t be like others who just accept what’s given to them. Be better, question everything and find out the truth about it!
- Rules are holding you back: People can spend so much time trying to please others and play by the rulebook. Trust me, they aren’t living their best lives. Don’t be like that.
- Rules are literally just instructions: And as such, instructions aren’t made to fit everyone, so don’t even worry too much about them.
To finish this off I just would like to say breaking rules is totally fine. If anything, breaking rules might get you to where you want to go in life.
Lastly, don’t try to live by anyone else’s’ rules but your own!
