Choosing conformity is tantamount to wasting your life in the middle of a crowd after having rendered yourself unable to communicate anything of substance. The alternatives, however, are tough, since most of us have been brought up to view approval as a requisite of survival.
Proper human life is impossible without dissident behaviour. Whatever rules you are following, how can you be sure that there are no exceptions? Even if you are willing to entrust your life to the wisdom of a leader, how do you make sure that he or she is the right one? The answer is simple: you just can't.
No matter how much a person knows, the ideas in his head represent only a minimal part of the knowledge available in any market at any given time. That knowledge increases by the hour and, for every product or service, there are hundreds of geographical markets.
Individual courage to deviate from the norm is the essence of all progress and happiness. Opportunities are distributed without apparent order in the market and each of us possesses more knowledge than we are aware of. In many cases, we are at first unable to name the reasons behind our convictions, but then, after some reflection, we come up with amazing insights.
Individuals who think creatively are puzzled when they encounter someone who is psychologically immobilized. "Why don't you cut your losses and move on?” they ask him.
The determining factor is not intelligence. If we look around, we can observe self-defeating behaviour in all segments of the population. Paralysing conformity affects the ignorant and the educated, the experienced and the young.
The key element in the solution is that, before you can move forward, you have to get unstuck. Before you can focus your vision, you have to open your eyes. Before you can use your resources productively, you have to set your energies free. Here is how it works.
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About John Vespasian: | JOHN VESPASIAN writes about rational living and is the author of the novel "When everything fails, try this" and the essay "Rationality is the way to happiness." He has resided in New York, Madrid, Paris and Munich. His stories reflect the values of entrepreneurship, tolerance and self-reliance.
Web site: http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com/
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