What are you doing to disappoint society today?
I like that as a question. If I follow my inner guidance or knowing, and if I am authentic, I will inevitably disappoint society one way or another. I will disappoint my internalized society. (The Über Ich / over-I as Freud called it). It’s good to notice, and it’s good to be in the habit of disappointing this society.
If something feels right, if my inner guidance or knowing points to it, if it’s authentic, and if I can’t find a good reason to not do it (sometimes, there may be), then why not? Why not do it?
That’s how we create a life we won’t regret. Or, at least, are less likely to regret!
And sometimes, apart from disappointing our internalized society, our internalized shoulds, it requires examining our fears. What do I fear would happen? How likely is it? Can I find peace with it? Am I OK with it? Is it worth it?
It’s also helpful to explore how we internalize the expectations of society, what they are in our case, what effects they would have if we always followed them, and also what social functions they have or – in many cases – had some decades or generations ago. Many of them made sense at some point, and don’t so much now.
Today, I disappointed society by having my main meal at lunch, which I usually do. I will likely go to bed before accepted bedtime for grown-ups. I was honest in a way some may say you should be more strategic about. (It felt good, and didn’t feel like a big risk.) In general, my life is outside the norm in several ways, and it makes sense to me now and feels right, and I also know it will change. (Although I don’t know how.)