5 Realities That Lock You Up
As human beings, we like to believe that we are free. That our tastes, our preferences and our decisions are born from this idea of free will which makes us independent and seduces us. However, reality shows that there are in fact several small realities. These lock you up, decide for you before you even know it. And this is absolutely inevitable.
We are born in a specific place and at a specific time. To be part of this society we were born into, we must embrace the standards it has set. We make a good part of these standards our own without questioning them, without consciously evaluating them. During this adaptation process, we assimilate and incorporate them, considering them as “natural”.
Very often, these standards are the fruit of a collective rationality which seeks the general good. Other times, no. This is when they turn into a reality that locks you in and you follow without wondering if they are bringing you any benefit. Here are the five most frequent realities.
1. Value systems
Value systems are that set of ideologies or moral principles that indicate what is good or bad for a society. They also include a kind of prototype of the “ideal human being”. For example, someone who is hardworking, smart, good looking, etc.
These values are instilled in us from birth. Our family takes care of it and then the social institutions take over. We sometimes think that the values that prevail in our society are the only ones or the best. However, this is not always the case. Certain values, such as solidarity, seek to promote your development. Others, on the other hand, like blind obedience, are simply realities that lock you up.
2. Fashions, realities that lock you up
Fashions have acquired an unusual power, especially since the second half of the 20th century. They have been around for a long time, of course, but it was during the industrial revolution that they became an essential factor in people’s lives.
They constitute a way of accentuating an identification within a group by giving us a sense of belonging. They turn into realities that lock you in when you adopt them without questioning or appreciating them. Or when they are the fruit of an inordinate desire for acceptance.
3. Customs
Customs are like values: we follow some of them from birth. They help us integrate into a society and accept its standards. However, they can also limit us and hinder our development.
Customs like basic hygiene habits are positive because they help us maintain our health. On the other hand, others like the fact that someone has to get married before the age of 15 is not so beneficial. The main thing, in any case, is to know that we always have the possibility to evaluate these customs that we follow, to maintain them or to change them. It will depend on ourselves.
4. Roles
The role is the specific label we have within a group. In other words, it is the function that the group assigns to a person. There are different kinds of roles and each of them obeys bosses. People should act according to their assigned role. For example, in the family there may be different expectations for different children.
Roles turn into reality that lock you up when you aren’t aware of them and passively embrace them. This can for example have a big impact on gender roles. If you just accept that you have to behave a certain way based on your gender, disregarding the logic behind that idea, your personal growth may come out limited.
5. Stereotypes
Stereotypes are mental patterns that apply to people or groups. They include a set of ideas or patterns about that person or group. Their main characteristic is that they are prejudices, that is, ideas that apply to a reality before proceeding to reasoning on its veracity or falsity.
Stereotypes cause you to think or act automatically and often wrongly. For example, a man who wears an expensive suit may seem important and trustworthy to you. On the other hand, a scruffy person can look dangerous or unworthy. However, in reality, the opposite can happen.
All of these realities that lock you up are filtered into your consciousness and largely determine how you view the world. It is always good to think about everything we have been taught to see if it is beneficial to us or limiting us.
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