it seems very hard in america to not be conditioned by all the pretentious, in patient, over anxious, and general short attention spand that seems prevelant in every person i meet. how can anyone not fall victim to learning to be that way if everyone around them imposes that into a persons whole life? or is it just an inevitability?
You just gotta do your own thing, and make choices that reflect your own values. Fuck what other people say.
It is not an inevitability. If you don't want to be a duck, so to say, then don't walk, talk, or act like one. Individuality is a beautiful thing.
As an experiment I subscribed to a bunch of informative magazines a while ago. I don't have a TV and occasionally watch movies on my computer but reading is definitely where it's at. When I hang out with people there are always interesting topic points like shit I learned from Scientific American or whatever. These days I notice that people are still interested, but just too lazy to learn on their own. If you can bring up an interesting topic more often than not they will listen and engage. Set an example I guess...
whos limits? only limits im concerned with are the ones i find inside....and i push those regularly as well.....
i also do not watch tv..........and do alot of reading and be an example is prob the best advice...as long as it is an example of who you want to be...and not of who you are told you should be....
You don't avoid it, especially not by trying to. Judge yourself the best you can by how you feel about your life and not by how you think others perceive you, but don't ever start to think you can fully avoid considering what others think. It takes too much effort already to ask "how do i escape being shaped by society?" In asking this question, you are doing it to yourself.
we have discussed before how deep the layers of influence can go.... to be without influence......not possible in our current reality..... without complete isolation
I think the number 1 thing is to not watch TV..that's what it's there for, to condition you. I'm surrounded by friends everyday that seem incredibly lazy to me...It seems like most people can go through their day getting nothing done and be completely satisfied with that...like they feel like they've accomplished something by doing nothing all day. This is what I thin goes through their head: "again, I got away with watching TV all day and not facing any of my responsibilities in life- me 1 : world 0 " I personally can't get to sleep if I don't get things accomplished each day. Somedays the people around me just seem like zombies....like in walmart waiting in line...I just see blank stares...I do everything I can to stay motivated but it gets tougher and tougher because I have no one to associate with on this level.
After reading some more posts in here, I feel like elaborating on my post. Influence is not necessarily a bad thing. If you weren't influenced by anything, you would probably be sitting in a plain room not knowing how to talk, and pooping in the corner. So be thankful you have influences, otherwise you would lead a smelly existance. What is important is what you choose to let influence you. You have to use your own set of morals to determine what is right for your lifestyle, and not be influenced as to what should influence you. Choose your own path, and be happy with what you choose. You only live once, and you should not waste your existence becoming something that you do not like. Sorry if thats a bunch of mindless jibberish.
Can you live without being influenced? No. You cant. Everything influences you, from your family and friends, to the tv shows and movies you watch, to you social activities. To live without being influenced is to be a hard empty shell. Your life is who you are.
I'm meaning have fun, but don't go out breaking a bunch of laws and getting yourself in shit like that.
well shit theres a ton of stuff you can and can not do. im just gonna smoke weed and do whatever i should do.
You just gotta figure out what's worth influencing you and what isn't. It's hard though. I say it's nice to just not give a fuck about most society related things. If they don't directly affect you, fuck it. If it affects you but doesn't really harm your or anything, fuck it.