Fitting In Might Be All Bullshit
... not to mention 'falling into line', doing 'what is right', 'acceptance' and 'belonging'
An enlightening Ted Talk and just like Carlin before him - The American Dream is under attack. But this time there is more. This is not just about America. This is about people, individuality, questioning ‘falling into line’ and doing ‘what is expected of you’. Something that I have definitely on occasions taken to an extreme in my past.
It was Oscar Wilde who wrote
“Whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong
The corollary? Whenever people disagree, with me, I always feel that I am right?
It’s easy enough to carry a Legal and General umbrella in a sea of ‘bankers black umbrellas’, it’s a very different proposition to take a more meaningful stand against the status quo. If you know me, you might be surprised to learn that I wasn’t born with that gene. My public facade of complete confidence was just that … a façade. Like us all, I have had my reservations, about so much. So when I heard this Ted talk - it hit so many nerves that I decided it needed its own newsletter. Immediately!
In the words of the Ted introduction
“The way we're taught to live has got to change. Too often, we hide parts of ourselves in order to fit in, win praise, be accepted. But at what cost?”
What caught my attention is that as I am writing these newsletters, blog posts and books (yes - a second one is under development, before I have even finished the first), I am pushing back on traditional thinking. Reversing ideas that have been around for a long time. I ‘know’ what I’m talking about is at odds with traditional thought. When I get into conversations, I recognize ‘the look’ and that affects me. When I hear ‘yes - but’ … I wonder if I am being pushed into the ‘corner of compliance’ and start to question myself.
Watch the video. I’m not going to write it all down here … except to pluck a couple of lines that Casey referenced on his way through his talk …
"He who adapts can live tolerably"
… reads a sign in a Stasi prison in Berlin, or reminding us of Miles Davis …
“It takes a long time to sound like yourself.”
Or yet Kendrick Lamar
I'm not on the outside looking in
I'm not on the inside looking out
I'm in the dead fucking center, looking around
Spot on. This might seem to be a different newsletter to the usual, but it is central to People First thinking. Because, to pick up on what I am writing about requires the suspension of belief. Requires the need to question Business As Usual. Requires each of us to choose a pill.
Many Thanks For Your Attention. Please do share through your social channels of choice and forward the email to colleagues, friends and family that want to join us on this journey. I appreciate your support.