95% of people are sheep, just look around you. Clothing fashions all change with eachother according to what the others are doing. Church: just tell me What to believe. Bars, drinking toxic liquids and smoking radioactive smoke because it's cool. Resumes which plead for others to make us worthy members of society.
It takes a special kind of defiance to say no thank you to What the world expects you to be.
Absolutely. You are always a sheep in some regard; non-conforming in every regard is an exhausting and worthless endeavor. Not to mention, you almost have to pay more attention to trends than the unconscious conformer, at which point... who is the slave to trends?
I find the whole idea of using "sheep" as a shorthand for adherence to social norms to be immature. To me it smacks of the adolescent impulse to distinguish oneself from one's parents, and by extension, from any perceived authority--social or otherwise. It's not a great long-term strategy, but it satisfies an emotional need.
Actively defying the norm for its own sake is counterproductive. If your choices are based directly on trends by actively pushing against every one of them you notice your still a slave to them.
And you're a sheep that rejects the other sheep because being anti-sheep is cool right now.
I do what I want to do because I want to do it. Sometimes that means doing things that gasp other people also enjoy doing. Are we all sheep then? I get the Fight Club anti-consumerism mentality, but taking it just as far in the other direction isn't any better. Trading one sheeps skin for another means you're still a sheep.
BTW, wines and beers have been produced for almost as long as humanity has been around. If everyone who enjoys a drink once in awhile is only doing it because it's cool, then alcohol is longest lasting fad known. :)
I agree that the typical person can be a sheep, however:
* the church callout is unnecessary, it can be a type of self-analysis
* Alcohol is not toxic and in reasonable quantities does not have a purely deleterious effect.
* When needing to make personal connections (which one always will since you learn a lot from others, not to mention the benefits of having connections and even just social interactions) it is good to look like you fit in, so others do not become defensive.
* there's a limited amount of time and energy available for coming up with your own things. If somebody gives me clothes that are comfortable and look good, I won't spend time thinking of what clothes would "really be me as an individual". On my last personal project I had my own design, but we ended up looking through a Web Design idea book, made something that looked rather standard, and ended up with a better reaction, as it's what was expected and hence more usable. In other words, pick your battles, save up for the big innovations, recognize the value of others, and stand on their shoulders, even if you have to conform a bit to do so
Thank you for being a part of my statistic. Alcohol makes you misrable. Say baaa sheep. :) you were trained to say it's fun by billion dollar psychoogical ad campaigns to brainwash you to think it fun.
It's abuse in a bottle, wolves realize this and profit off the sheep.
Which is why humans have been drinking alcohol since the dawn of history[0]? I don't think they had billion dollar psychological ad campaigns in ancient mesopotamia...
You will be miserable if you abuse it. It's quite nice in moderation. (Although I understand if people would rather not drink it, for whatever their reason.) Humanity has made alcoholic drinks for thousands of years, well before modern ad campaigns.
Miserable? As a bit of an introvert, alcohol can actually be a powerful tool. Most all humans, myself included, crave social interaction. Sometimes coworkers and a smattering of friends isn't enough, and it can be refreshing to occasionally visit a bar and make friends for the night.
You know you can say what you want, but I'm living for a year in a country where alcohol is illegal and quite frankly I think it's a detriment. Why? because alcohol helps fuel the rhythms of the week, where people are "on" during work days and "off" during the weekend. How? by making it acceptable to not be mentally in a state to do work outside of work hours.
Here the weekend means nothing. People work 6-7 days per week, and are always on. They lose the rhythm. Religion fills the void a bit with friday prayers an excuse to work less, but really.
You should be more grateful for what you've got... you benefit from a society that doesn't expect you to be on 7 days per week.
You can only be sure you're really rejecting society's desires when everyone thinks you're mentally ill. Good luck with that.
But seriously, if you keep going down this line of thought you will soon end up a lunatic staggering through a hall of mirrors. Just give up and be yourself, whatever that seems to be at any given moment.
I'll go a step beyond. Most people look to others for cues. Some others bend over backwards to not conform (like the "I wake every day at 4:54 am" weirdo--just say 4:55 man!). Much more rare is the person who just does exactly what they want.
> Much more rare is the person who just does exactly what they want.
Arseholes aren't particularly rare.
What is rare is the person who does exactly what they want without ruining life for everyone around them while actually improving the world in some way.
Everyone forms groups with shared behaviors and values whether they realize it or not. This is neither good or bad, but it does serve to define each and everyone of us whether we accept it or not.
Most animals are driven by a desire to eat, sleep and reproduce including humans. There are exceptions like worker bees and ants that can't reproduce, there is no analog in humans.
I occasionally drink and/or smoke. It has nothing to do with wanting to be cool. It has to do with feeling good and, to a slightly lesser extent, having something to do with friends. I don't really know anyone who actually drinks or smokes just because it's cool.
It takes a special kind of defiance to say no thank you to What the world expects you to be.