following the rules is boxing you in

there are rules in every nation that shape the way in which the people of that nation choose to live their lives. whether the rules are spoken or unspoken, religious or cultural, rational or irrational; you will see that most people follow along without ever questioning why.⁣

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there is this magical feeling that comes after realizing how much the rules are bullshit and you don’t have to follow any of them. i came to write today and i was thinking to myself how much i don’t give a fuck about rules anymore - especially now more than ever. ⁣

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i don’t care about writing rules. i know my college english professors would cringe at my writing now; i don’t use capital letters, half the time i don’t even use proper punctuation - and i don’t care. i’ve always hated rules but i was obedient in the name of wanting approval from the people i loved. i wanted to fit into a society that had no room for who i actually was at the core of my being. ⁣

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and now, as i sit here and really sit with all of this … i realize that the rules make life really boring. they keep us coloring in the lines so that everything we produce is uniform. but great art is messy, it’s the furthest thing from uniform. ⁣

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deep down inside we are all great artists. we have to be willing to break the rules in order to access our creative genius. if you think about it, rules are just a very clever way of boxing us in. ⁣

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one very specific rule (that is both unspoken and universal) is that you need to stay in the box and follow the rules of the nation, in order to be loved and accepted.

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THIS IS NOT TRUE! ⁣at least not capital T true.

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people who are boxed in protect the same rules that box them in. ⁣

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this is something i realized after i stopped following the rules. i stopped playing into people’s ideas of me. i started to show people my true self and a lot of family and friends started to fall out of my life. it took years before some relationships were mended and others fell away for good. ⁣

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my point is, when you start to love yourself more than the false self that follows the rules, you are going to lose a lot of people. you are going to be considered useless to society because anyone who uses their mind to think for themselves is deemed useless in our society. ⁣

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but ironically, you gain something that is worth everything you lose + more. ⁣

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you gain yourself; your true self. ⁣

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and you know what comes with your true self? ⁣

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treasures. ⁣

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talents. ⁣

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abundance. ⁣

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and even more, ironically, people come back around. they begin to admire your courage and your tenacity. they respect you for the same reasons they resented you in the beginning. ⁣

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you just have to keep reminding your very ancient primitive brain that you aren’t going to die in the face of rejection - that you know what you are doing - and that you’re letting your heart lead the way. ⁣

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the heart knows the way to freedom, eventually, the two will work together. ⁣

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but in the beginning, you have to be okay with having alarms going off in your brain. ⁣

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here’s one of my favorite affirmations for when the sirens are blaring in your head for breaking the rules. ⁣

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all is well, i am safe.⁣

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it is simple and easy to remember. the more you say it, the more your mind will get on board with your newfound perspective. ⁣

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fuck the rules, they are made up anyway. ⁣

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#getoutthetrap⁣