Operation Achieve Anything: Day Three-Hundred-Twenty-One, Dateline 11-17-2018
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“Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character.”
Good morning crickets. Welcome to day number three-hundred-twenty-one of Operation Achieve Anything. I can’t believe that it’s another Saturday already. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was surprised by the fact that it was last Saturday. This week has been an interesting one because I spent way too much time focusing on my efforts to regulate my sleep that it threw off my entire schedule. I think I was just trying to recapture the success of the week before where I managed to hit my daily target of seven hours of slumber without any effort at all.
Sleep has always been my Achilles Heal. I love sleep, I love to dream, but I also love nothing more than staying up until I’m on the verge of a manic episode because I am so sleep deprived. There is a sweet spot in this realm of tiredness where it sort of feels like you’re living in a world between the two realities. You may be grounded in the rules of the physical world, but your mind is freer to wander where ever it wants to. Not only that, but late at night is when all of the interesting stuff goes down.
Whether you’re out and about dealing with the weirdos as they’re released from the bars, of safe at home flipping through channels at a time where the programming gets more bizarre, this is why night time is the time for the creative. Even though who prefer to do that actual work that goes into their creations during the way, most inspiration, at least when it comes to me, happens when the world’s lit by the moon.
I take that back. Not all of my creative ventures take place under the moonlight, with this blog being an example of creative work I generate during the day, but the sun has always been down when I create content that’s more anti-conformity focused. This leads us to today’s assignment where I’m supposed to share my views on conformity. The book highlights how conformity can slow the process of growth since you’re giving in to accepting an outsiders purpose, and not truly figuring things out on their own.
I think I was born to be a nonconformist, considering I was born on a date that only exists once every four years. Right out the gate, I was given an annual reminder that I was different with endless questions about how it all works. This is how I know that nobody is good at math or have a grasp on the concept of how time works. Yes, I’ve only had ten birthdays so you could say that I’m ten, but you can’t say that I’m ten years old because I’m still living by the rules of the planet and not on my own trajectory around the sun that takes four times the amount of time.
Maybe it was this early introduction to logic that’s led me to look at things from different angles, making me a nonconformist by default. To be clear, I wouldn’t say that I’ve ever felt like a contrarian who gets their jollies out of actively getting under people skin by merely taking the opposite opinion to any argument, no matter where they may stand. I can’t stand confrontation and avoid it at all cost by keeping my more controversial thoughts to myself. This is why I only run my mouth on social media when I’m drunk and annoyed ever since I grew tired of feeling so different and no longer talk to anyone who used to be there to let me vent.
I also feel that part of my nonconforming tendencies come from the fact that I was the only boy in the has with no real male influence which also led me to see the world differently than the reality that I’ve always been sold. I would always hear how “this is a man’s world,” yet I was raised in a world where the women were in control. Not that this is a bad thing, but I do feel that it’s led me to have body image issues and other insecurities that are more traditionally seen as female issues, only to constantly be told, “it’s different because you’re a boy.” I was always just supposed to “man up” and get over it, instead of getting offered any nurturing help to move on.
I’ve always felt so alone, that I’ve developed all of my beliefs by myself and being a goofball who was always drawn to the surreal, I naturally lean towards more fringe ideas. Even if I don’t believe in a movement, I’m interested in hearing anyone side to any argument whether or not I want to get involved in the debate. I’m more interested in hearing all the options than having to commit to any answer. Sure this may make it hard to nail down who I am since I will entertain an idea without committing to it, but is that part of being a nonconformist? I don’t know, I just want to be me.
So, there you have my take on conformity, with that, let me now introduce the assignment for today where I’m now supposed to explore my relationship with the part of me that wants solitude versus how I relate to my social side. Being a recent shut-in, this should be a fun one, but you’ll have to wait for tomorrow to read what I have to say. Until then, it’s now time for me to wrap this thing up by saying, good day and good luck to you and all of your projects.
Talk to you soon.
Sincerely,
The Wicker Breaker
P.S. Below are links to my novel, which I plan to promote as part of Operation Achieve Anything, as well as a link to where you can buy the book that is providing the structure to this project in case you would like to purchase it in order to play along.
