As I get ready to sell my house I have noticed some people seemed disturbed by my change, and ask me several times Why are you going?, Where are you going to live? (A: My intuition said so, B: I don't know - I will travel and figure it out in the moment).
Peer pressure can be very strong. Many people don't like to change and if they see you changing they may want to stop you. Additonally groups of people have their own group consciousness or group think that affects every member of the group and 1) is hard to detect until you are outside of it 2) is deeply rooted in peoples belied systems. 3) creates a comfort zone where the ego feels safe.
Just think of families, religions, poltical parties, gender, businesses, nationalities. To be truely free I think it is necessary to be aware of these group pressures and to be independent of them. Ok to go in the same direction if that is what you want to do consciously, but not doing it unconsciously.
Simon Black of www.sovereignman.com has something to say on this topic, which is what inspired me to write this blog entry.
Cara asks, "Simon, I know you've been vocal about encouraging young people to look abroad for better opportunities. And I agree with you. I'm graduating in the spring and there doesn't seem to be anything for me here. But every time I talk about going overseas, my friends and family try to talk me out of it."
This is really common. Look, most people know that the situation in their town and country isn't so great. But few will actually take action to do anything about it.
Hundreds, thousands of years ago, human survival depended on our willingness to take action. If Paleolithic hunter/gatherers didn't hunt or gather, they starved. Today we can just sit around on Facebook all day collecting food stamps and other entitlement benefits.
Moreover, there's a psychological tendency for people to feel threatened when anyone within their circle or peer group breaks away and does something different. Heading overseas to find better opportunity falls within this category.
So first they'll try to talk you out of it. They'll tell you that you're crazy and try to explain how RISKY it is to go abroad. They'll tell you that [insert country name] is dangerous or unstable. Bear in mind they have no idea what they're talking about.
Eventually they'll come to accept your decision, and then respect you for it. Then one day you'll start getting emails from people wondering how they too can follow in your footsteps.
Bottom line, if you really want to break free, most people will have to ignore their friends and family. Do what's right for you, not what's comfortable for everyone else.
