5 Ways Nonconformity Can Save Your Life

Getting older is a given. Getting wiser is not.

Do you tend to stick to your guns because you’ve been doing things a certain way for so long? Or, on the other hand, are you excited to adapt, evolve, and grow?

The latter is what it means to have a ‘growth mindset’…as opposed to a ‘fixed mindset’. It’s like this story I call?“Two Acorns, One Oak”:

Two acorns grew up together as best friends, each wanting to be the best acorn it could be.

As they slept, they each had dreams of touching the sky and sprouting massive limbs and mighty roots down into the ground below.

They both knew that following that dream would require courage to leave behind the acorn life they knew so well.

One acorn followed his insights and intuition, while the other stubbornly stuck to his beliefs of wanting to be the best acorn. That acorn stayed in the world that was known, in the perceived safety and security of his ‘acorn world’.

Years passed, and then decades, and then one day the acorn looked up and saw his childhood friend, now living life as a colossal, towering oak tree.

The tiny acorn stared in awe at the breathtaking behemoth. The earth-shattering tentacles intertwined with mother earth below, connected up through a magnificent trunk, and then weaved upwards and outwards towards long, powerful branches. The limbs ascended into a shroud of glowing, translucent greenery. A million leaves kissed the sky above as they fed out fresh oxygen for the benefit of all, and the tree housed an abundance of chattering songbirds and grateful beasts within its vibrant and generous canopy.

The little acorn walked away, dejected, and said out loud in desperation, “Being the best at what I was has kept me from being what I could be!”

To the acorn’s surprise, a thunderous voice responded.

The Mighty Oak bellowed, “Being the best at what you were IS KEEPING you from what you can be, right now. I may have transformed first, old friend, but life isn’t a race. It’s never too late to do things differently and have faith in the unknown.”

Then, something shifted within him, and the little acorn marched away with his head held high. He was excited about what was coming and for the unknown adventures ahead.

Don’t waste your life. You are a mighty oak. Never settle for being a tiny acorn.

Conformity kills.

It kills your originality, creativity, dreams, and soul. And it kills them long before your body dies, leaving you an unimaginative, unfocused, spiritless shell of a person.

Here Are Five Ways To Practice Nonconformity And Take Back Your Life:

1. Stop Being Busy All The Time

Everyone else has their heads down and races around, but you’ll slow down and no longer wear busyness as a badge of honor. And while everyone else is uncomfortable in stillness and silence, you’ll know that this is where the vision of?your?“oak tree” will come to you. It can’t be forced and you miss it in the fray of a life lived on a neverending hamster wheel.

How to break the mold? MEDITATE - Begin meditating for 5 minutes every morning. Try an app like?Headspace?to help with consistency.

2. Have Purpose, Clarity, And Direction

Everyone else is blindly following the herd, but you’ll enjoy clear vision. By letting go of old patterns, programming, and beliefs, you’ll discover why you’re here and know where you’re heading.

How to break the mold? DAYDREAM. Imagine what life would look like if your wildest dreams come true. Be sure to leave logic, circumstance, money, and any other limitations aside for this exercise.

3. Stop Wasting Time.

Everyone else is deferring their dreams for “one day” or “someday”. You’ll courageously die to the old version of yourself and no longer waste a moment on anything that’s not worth your precious time. And because you know that right now is the only moment of its kind, and it will?never?be like this again, doors of opportunity will begin opening themselves to you in this present moment.

How to break the mold? USE “MINDFUL REMINDERS”. Remind yourself often that the only time there is…is right now. Also, take note often of how you feel about how you are spending this moment in time. Those feelings will tell you everything you need to know.

4. Never Stop Learning.

Everyone else lives their lives based on everything they’ve been taught. You’ll begin to question everything you’ve been taught. Take it from Socrates, who said, “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”

How to break the mold? QUESTION EVERYTHING. Everything in your life, from little things like the way you brush your teeth to massive things like the way you make decisions, is now fair game for observation and examination.

5. Feel Fulfilled While Fulfilling Your Dreams.

Everyone else is grinding and hustling for the “goodie” at the end. You’ll know that it’s important to have a destination but so much more blissful to enjoy the journey. And while everyone else is trampling tulips on a path to the top, you actually get to smell the flowers along the way.

How to break the mold? PRACTICE “MEMENTO MORI”. It means “Remember thou art mortal” and allows death, and the fragility of life, to bring vivid aliveness to each and every day.

A final thought: Just about every acorn looks like just about every other acorn, however, you’ll never find two identical oak trees. When you allow your true self to be expressed, you summon the mighty oak within. Then you will finally be free to be the one and only you.

Enjoy the journey,

Mike

Mike Messeroff is a Nonconformity Expert, Storyteller, Speaker, Personal Freedom Coach, and Polyamory Guide. Contact Mike on LinkedIn or visit MikeMesseroff.com to learn more.