On the Problem with Trying to Fit Into Cultural Stereotypes

On the Problem with Trying to Fit Into Cultural Stereotypes

Topic:Personal
Posted on:Jul 21 2015
Captured by:Austin M
Method:Dictation

As I grow older, I grow wary of adopting life-shaped stereotypes. Our culture has a series of forms and we try to fit people into those forms. It’s a kind of mental shorthand. It allows us to distinguish Person A from Person B; it allows us to predict behavior.

The problem is that these stereotypical forms are restrictive. As I try to fit into any of them, my edges break off. I don’t mean my rough edges, but rather the sharp edges of my soul. It can be very wearisome fitting oneself into someone’s ideal of a “scholar,” or of an “entrepreneur,” or of some spiritual archetype. There is a kind of integral honesty that comes from relaxing into who you are; that is the first step on the path to becoming who you were made to be.

 

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