Sometimes its hard to have your own opinion. People don’t like it when they see someone straying away from the norm because, in some way , it threatens how they perceive the world. Often times people become defensive and criticize people who decide to challenge the norm in order to preserve what they are comfortable with.
Related: How Life Tests Your Will to Succeed
Despite its risk, standing up for what you believe in against adversity is crucial to achieve happiness. “Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone.” ~ Unknown Author
Go Against the Grain
Never wanting to risk looking like a fool, some people never go against the grain. They don’t like feeling out of place, so they repress their individuality in order to “fit in” with the cool crowd. What actually happens is they fit in, but never really feel like they belong.
Its like sloppily folding the edges of a puzzle piece just so that you can fill in the hole in the big picture. Happiness doesn’t work like that. You can’t just pretend to be someone you are not because in the end, you are the one who will find yourself doing pointless shallow things not to make yourself happy, but to make the people around you slightly satisfied.
It is free will
You are your own person. You are in charge of what you do. You get to decide what you want and what you like. Do not let your boyfriend or your girlfriend boss you around. They need to understand that you are a living breathing human being with your own goals, your own desires and your own dreams – not some robot to do their bidding.
Do not let your friends bully you simply because you have a different taste in clothes or music. If someone close to you can not respect your free will, then maybe they are not worth being close to. But you know what its not up to me, nor is it up to any article on the internet to decide what you do with your life. That is the beauty of free will. Its up to your to decide who is worth it. You and only you can decide who you are, and what you do.
Conclusion
Do not willingly give up your personal freedom by simply being a faceless nobody in the crowd. Be yourself. Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing by yourself. Because even if you are standing alone, you’ll know for a fact that it was your choice.