The Art Of Fitting ‘Out’

I love every time I’m asked what my interests are. The moment someone thinks they can relate to me on one level, I come out of left field with something I’ve done that they would never do, people I associate with that they would never find themselves around, or have a certain thought process they have never took the time to consider. The feeling that people get when they don’t belong is a feeling I embrace to the fullest. It’s what reminds me that I am me, not a cog in society’s machine.

Nothing gives me more joy than to talk about new ideas with people. Now, I know it’s important that we talk about how hot the weather is and how much we just hate our jobs, but don’t you think there’s something of more substance we can discuss? Unfortunately, we live in a society that does whatever it can not to ‘rock the boat’ and keep everything on the surface level, as if it’s not in good taste to discuss topics that are essential to the human experience. We have become so much of a politically correct culture that we don’t even have our own ideas anymore. Every time we color outside the lines we are ridiculed and made an example of for not following the rules. Maybe what we should ask ourselves, then,  is “how well has following the rules really been working out for us so far?”

Think about every great person you’ve ever known. The ones that have really made a difference in this world. The ones that have caused a cosmic shift in our consciousness so great it’s affected the way us and future generations will live for years to come. One thing that is universally true in all of these cases: they were all hated by some group of people. Great ideas never come without a price. Galileo was imprisoned for daring to challenge the practically unanimous belief that the Sun revolved around the Earth. Martin Luther King Jr was murdered for preaching equality for all. Steve Jobs was fired from his own company because of his ‘unrealistic’ visions for the future of computers. Many of the things we accept as truth today were forged from someone who dared to be different. Growth and change don’t come from following the same ways of thinking that got us here. We need to foster a culture that teaches people how (not what) to think, and encourages people to be different.

One important caveat to what I’m proposing is not only to encourage individuality, but accept it in others, even when it doesn’t align with our values. If there is one thing that is being perpetuated now more than ever by the media, entertainment, and political spheres is this notion of divisiveness. As different as we might be, and as important as it is that we remain true to ourselves, we are also part of a planet that depends on one another.
Do I expect us all to sing kumbaya by a camp fire and live together in peace and harmony? Not at all. I’m optimistic, but I’m not naive. If there’s one thing I want to drive home its this:

You don’t have to be at the mercy of other people’s expectations of you.

Sometimes to be right is to be hated. Sometimes you have to stick with your principles, even if it’s out of alignment with people you care about. Having a libertarian mindset has gotten me into a lot of heated discussions when it comes to how a society should function. And, I admit, I am far from having all of the answers. What I know without a shadow of a doubt is that what’s good for me isn’t always what’s good for you, and that is a beautiful thing that should be embraced. I heard once that the true measure of a man is defined by the amount of uncomfortable conversations he is willing to have. Let’s challenge convention. Let’s push the boundaries of what we thought was possible, because everything is impossible until someone does it.