Your thoughts are your own right? Think again
You know that most of the world around us is a result of endless years of human inventions. Sounds obvious, right? But have you really thought about it to understand the real weight of it? The phone or the laptop that you are using right now to read this, the clothes that you are wearing right now, the chair you are sitting on or the bed you are laying right now, every part of your house, your car are products of the evolution of human civilization now represented by our current societies.
So, in reality, we are born into a world made by others without much knowledge or control over it for ourselves. People are familiar with the advice that say, “Don’t let other people influence your thinking, think by yourself”. But have you ever thought about not letting the physical world you live in not influence your thinking?
The Problem
The problem here is that the present living generations are too busy being entertained by the physical world around us we’ve lost track of what we are doing. We constantly act, react and create our world views according to how we are instructed by the world around us. In the simplest words, we are too busy living our lives in the ‘outside world’ and forget to think by ourselves and question the world around us and our place in it. Our thoughts are not just influenced by other people. In a society that’s complicated as the universe itself, it’s impossible to not be influenced by the physical world around you.
We are constantly perceiving the ‘outer world’ from an outside-in approach and reacting to it by changing our ‘inner worlds’. So, we rely and go on to live our lives in the ‘outer world’ without establishing a concrete ‘inner world’. What if we change our approach from outside-in to inside-out? What if we stop being manipulated by the world around us?
Inside-out Approach
The ‘inside-out approach’ is about experiencing the world without being influenced by its’ constructed value systems. It is about having an overall idea about who you really are, who you really want to be, and what you really want to do with your life. As you mature, your idea of who you are and what you want to be may change. But that’s how you progress with your life. The important thing is to build up a concrete value system and establish a set of principles to guide your own life toward who you want to be in your life, by yourself.
One of the key things in doing this is observing the world without any preconceptions at hand. Look at why things are the way they are. Look into the history of things. Look at how things have evolved. Think about why things like the television were created. Or how it became widely popular. When you do this you have an advantage over the things around you. They can’t tell you how they should be used. You know how they should be used.
Think by Yourself
Thinking by yourself is about actively paying attention to why you are doing things the way you do. The way you interact with the world. Why other people are behaving the way they do. When you are aware of these things you can better navigate yourself through life. You can pick and choose things to allocate your time. Your time is limited and you can’t fight every battle out there. You have to pick the ones you want to fight.
This will allow you to access the greater potential of your inner self. It will help you to reach your purpose in life on your own terms and conditions. It will help you to build up your own lifestyle, your own value system, and your own philosophy at large. And ultimately it will free you from the chains of the world around you and let you command the world around you to serve your life purpose.
Final Thoughts
We are all programmed from birth to perceive the ‘outer world’ according to the cultural norms, belief systems, and collective thinking patterns that exist in the respective societies. ‘Think by yourself’ is a great method to question the obvious, to get a better grip on the ‘outer world’. What we call ‘human experience’ is very much unique to each one of us. Therefore, to get a better ‘human experience’ we should build up our own way of life and our own philosophy using the inside-out approach. Using social norms, social belief systems and collective thinking patterns is a must when dealing with the world. But never forget to question them, analyze them, and ultimately build up philosophy for your own life.
Building up your own way of life or philosophy is what matters in the end. As recent events in the world have shown that the system isn’t strong as it is perceived to be. It can destruct around you in a heartbeat. Only a well thought life philosophy of your own can keep you afloat when the whole world starts to sink around you. So, folks please think for yourself and think on your own. It will not be an easy journey in the beginning, but you will experience the world at levels you have never imagined before!
