Disobey

by Johnny B. Truant

So every step of the way, I said to the world, "What should I do?" and the world answered back, "Here's what you've gotta do to have a rocking life… but dude, I should warn you, it's fucking hard as motherfucking FUCK!" But then I gave this dismissive wave and I was like, "World, bro, it's cool. I got this. I'm a hard worker. Consider it rocked."

Every time a law is applied, it is applied as a matter of opinion. And those are the laws -- the biggest and baddest rules we have. So think about the littler rules. Club rules. Social standards. Values. "The way things are normally done." Opinions, every one. Yet we live our lives as if they're immutable truths.

If the majority does one thing, the outliers who do something else are "weird." "Normal" is a consensus, nothing more.

If "normal" could change tomorrow, why are we such slaves to it? And where has "normal" gotten us, anyway?

Most people prioritize other people's demands and needs over their own and choose work over fun. Most people choose THINGS over HAPPINESS. Most people spend more time disliking what they're doing than they spend enjoying themselves.

Every day, we're asked not just to take responsibility for our own actions, but for those of everyone around us. Every day, we're asked to deal with problems we didn't consent to create. We're told to clean up messes we didn't make. We're told to toe the line in conditions we had no hand in. Well FUCK. THAT. SHIT. I'll make up my own damn mind, thanks.

Being a good and reasonable person in a good and reasonable and awesome life has nothing to do with following rules.

You can see if you're doing what you do because it's always been done that way, and decide that's an idiotic way to go through life. You can choose something better.

I live in this world, and I choose to follow most of its rules because I consciously choose not to face what would come from defying them. But I opt out of more and more, as my opting-out muscles grow.

There's a quote that says, "If you can't win the game, change the rules." So change some rules. Decide on your own game, the kind of game you might actually like to win. And win it.