Life in modern society can often be a marathon of conformity. We are taught from a young age to follow rules, to obey the system, to conform to certain standards or to aspire to certain ideals just because “we have to”.
“Believe and do not doubt”
The painful truth is that this race to conform to what is wanted for us (caution: what is wanted, not what we want) turns us into slaves of our own lives.
We end up making decisions conditioned by “what should” just because that’s what someone decided it should be.
Modern society shapes us in subtle and sometimes not so beneficial ways. It encourages us to impulsively consume, follow trends and follow rules. Unfortunately, one of the most obvious symptoms of this manipulation is found in the current education system, which instead of promoting free and critical thinking, focuses on conformity and repetition.
Is it intentional? Many would say yes. A society full of impulsive consumers who cannot think critically is an easy society to control. In this way, it becomes easier to sell products, ideas and even false realities.
But the choice to escape from this mad race is in our hands. Choosing yourself means, in this context, developing your ability to think critically, to not take things for granted and to refuse to be manipulated.
The education system as we know it needs a radical transformation. We can no longer continue to cultivate conformist minds, we must encourage creative, free, critical thinking.
We must come to value not only academic results, but also personal development, the spirit of initiative, the courage to think differently.
“Don’t let school interfere with your education.” – Mark Twain
A society that indoctrinates its youth to be stupid and impulsive is a society that is self-destructing. We cannot progress as a society unless we value our most precious resource – our mind.
We are entering a game that we did not choose, but which seems to be the only valid one. And what we do? We accept the rules, even though we didn’t make them. We work in places that we don’t like, but that we “must” have. We buy things we don’t need but that we “must” have.
“School teaches you how to choose a career, not how to choose your life.”


