Hey hey,

Hmm, as we get to the end of yet another year, it’s always good to do a bit of introspection.

You look at how you (hopefully) have transformed into someone (also hopefully) better than you were a year ago. Acknowledge EVERYTHING that’s happened this year, whether they were things that made you laugh, made you cry, took you down, picked you up, elevated you, hurt you, made you look good or bad, ALL of it for it is that entirety that got you to where you are now… and made the year what it was.

Looking at the past year (and specifically the past few months) I made a key discovery I’d like to share with you.

Screw Social Norms & Expectations – Rise Above It

It is our nature, as social animals, to well… abide by “social norms”, to do what others do and to THINK what others think. This helps structure a cohesive society and serves its purpose…

The problem is, too many of us stick to this far too stringently, not allowing ourselves the freedom to stray from the pack once in a while, not allowing us to BE whom we were destined to be and instead… we end up BEING just another predictable boring drone (“sheeple” as I like to call them… ya know, SHEEP + people). We end up allowing society, which is made of mediocre people, shape us into who we are and who we will ever become.

*shakes head*

Advancement in society is done by the extremists, the ones that DON’T play by the rules (all the time), that think outside of the box, that challenges the “social norm”. Think about it, if we ALL thought and did the same thing, there would be absolutely no room for creativity and as such, no room for advancement and discoveries.

F**k that.

I say challenge yourself and stop thinking like a sheeple (at least once in a while…)

Ditch what you think SHOULD be and instead, think what COULD be, because odds are, that “SHOULD” is shaped by social expectations and norms setup by folks who never thought of a different way of doing/being, who didn’t have the cojones to try something different, to risk being someone greater.

STOP doing something and STOP being someone just because that’s what you think the society thinks you should do/be.

Case in Point

One particular “sheeple” philosophy that seems to have come up a few times in my discussions with various people in the past year has to do with time.

Our concept of time and how long something should take seem to be largely influenced by social norms.

For example, “I need to work until I am 72 to retire.” “It’ll take me four years to get my college degree.” “I need 12 years of experience before starting my own consulting firm.” “I can’t expect to reach a certain level of success because I am too young.” “Maturity only comes with age.“

Bluh bluh bluh…

Stop imposing such limitations on yourself just because everyone else seem to be abiding by them.

Try surprising yourself sometimes… give yourself that opportunity and that freedom to break free of social restrictions.

Heck, try setting NEW social norms

Here’s to a great 2011!

Raymond Fong