Is standing out so good?

[Player-X]

Is following what others do and not standing out from the masses really all that bad?
I know we are are all relatively unique but do we really have to emphasize it and have to force it onto ourselves not following others?
Is it really so bad that you do what others do or is it really good that you would want to shop at a mall when the same shing could be much cheaper at a local walmart?
When you are think for yourself does it really have to mean that you shoud stand out from a crowd or does blending in often is the better option?
Come to think of it sometimes it's far better to take the minor role rather than being the main character.

[jonc2006]

Originally Posted by Player-X

Is following what others do and not standing out from the masses really all that bad?
I know we are are all relatively unique but do we really have to emphasize it and have to force it onto ourselves not following others?
Is it really so bad that you do what others do or is it really good that you would want to shop at a mall when the same shing could be much cheaper at a local walmart?
When you are think for yourself does it really have to mean that you shoud stand out from a crowd or does blending in often is the better option?
Come to think of it sometimes it's far better to take the minor role rather than being the main character.

i see what you mean, i usually dont like to draw too much attention to myself, i look like any normal person, i dont have flashy purple hair or whatnot just for the sake of being different. people who stand out like so often say they dont like conforming but they dont realize that they are conforming themselves, conforming with the non-conformist so to say. i could really care less where i buy ****, if i like it, ill buy it, i dont care where it comes from or who else wears it, if im into it, then thats all that matters.

[Proto]

It's all depending on what your purpose on life is. As for myself, I want to be engraved in history. Standing out (in the research world) for me is not only essencial, but the whole purpose of my existance.

For others whose purpose is love, to have friends or something akin, you must still stand out, but only in the eyes of those that matter to you... it's all a matter of perspective

Of course, standing out for just the sake of belitting other people tends to be a inferiority complex compensated the bad way. One has to understand when it is necessary to stand out (and why) and when not.

[RedLion]

Originally Posted by Player-X

Is following what others do and not standing out from the masses really all that bad?
I know we are are all relatively unique but do we really have to emphasize it and have to force it onto ourselves not following others?

Following others?I think we don't think if it is bad or good in general.You think if it's good or bad for YOU.Don't think the fact to be unique can help in this choice...

Originally Posted by Proto

[...]One has to understand when it is necessary to stand out (and why) and when not.

Totally agree.

[dynamicVoidMain]

I don't mind going with the flow so long as it doesn't interrupt with my core beliefs

[darth sephiroth]

Originally Posted by Player-X

Is following what others do and not standing out from the masses really all that bad?
I know we are are all relatively unique but do we really have to emphasize it and have to force it onto ourselves not following others?
Is it really so bad that you do what others do or is it really good that you would want to shop at a mall when the same shing could be much cheaper at a local walmart?
When you are think for yourself does it really have to mean that you shoud stand out from a crowd or does blending in often is the better option?
Come to think of it sometimes it's far better to take the minor role rather than being the main character.

the problem there for me is that i ain't got a choice... i'm diagnosed with this ADHD thing that makes me constantly hyperactive and otherwise weird.

i understand what you mean though, but i doubt you've gotten the other side right. it's not encouraging you to stick out like a flare in the night but to not change yourself or your likings because other people thinks something else

[DoktorSeven]

The problem is *blindly* following others. Doing what others do just because they say that is the way things are supposed to be, or "just how it is" is insane.

Critically question everything presented to you as "fact", decide for yourself, and go your chosen way. That's the only real way to live life.

[Jldnr77]

I hate conformity. I refuse to be like everyone else because it's IN. Look at the whole Goth and Emo thing. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. If this is honestly YOU, then fine. But if it's not, then you are just cheating yourself.

Be you. If people don't like you for being you, then move on. Someone else will.

[Player-X]

I tend to choose actions that are in line with my intrests so I tend to only stick out when I need to and dissapear into the crowd when it is in my best intrest

[BigIg]

The thing is, no matter how much you want to be diffrent, there is a group of people just like you!

See, like with the emo/goth thing, they like to call themselves diffrent. Do I think they are diffrent? No. They are like a millions of other goths/emos just like them.

[jonc2006]

Originally Posted by Jldnr77

I hate conformity. I refuse to be like everyone else because it's IN. Look at the whole Goth and Emo thing. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. If this is honestly YOU, then fine. But if it's not, then you are just cheating yourself.

Be you. If people don't like you for being you, then move on. Someone else will.

yeah see thats what i mean, the goth and emo kids often state they act or dress the way they do in order to not conform to the crowd, but they end up conforming with the non conformists anyway without even realizing it,some of them are going against what they claim to stand for. there is no middle of the road its one or the other but either way your still part of a fad or whatever you want to call it.

[RPGW1ZaRD]

I don't "stick out" that much maybe but when it comes to making choises, I really choose what I think is best myself, I don't follow my mates choises. I can like say exactly what I think or want about something. My decisions doesn't get usually get affected by what "most people" do other than in cases where I lack knowledge and interest so in such cases I think following the rest is better if ya know what I mean. Still I don't see being different as a problem, sometimes it's better, sometimes it's better to not stick out too much, depends in what situation. Also lazyness can be a problem sometimes, you often don't think about it but yea it's easier to "let others think for you" but this can be a very dangerous development I would be cautious about. But I'd still say don't forget you got an own unique brain and heart, use them!

I was a very shy and "weak" mentally person as young, but through the years as I've grown up I now think I'm mentally very strong and selfconfident person at least to what I've been and I feel so much more like an adult now and I'd say my best feature these days which I really appriciate that has grown up on me is understanding & caring about others.

[Coolsvilleman]

to be truly free and rebellious means to do what you feel is right in any situation. "standing out" just to be noticed or individual is by no means free. I do both myself, standout when I feel like it and conform when it benefits me most.

[Player-X]

There is no such thing as free. All that we do is always affected by the influence of other factors including yourself. If there is truly pure freedom in the world we would be sitting around doing nothing.

[Kaolla]

Good topic.

I believe that standing out is fine for those that like to, but in my own personal opinion I think it's only a way to seek attention, to say "Hey, look at me!". Being different is natural but going overboard on it (doing things like dyeing hair not just because you like the color) is a bit silly.

[cloudsBro]

Well, its always nice to be noticed and remembered by people so I guess standing out is important to an extent.

[ChankastRules]

Well, I never cared, and it made me a very happy person.

I only do what I feel like. Never mind what others think.

Though it makes some people think I am a complete weirdo, it also makes some people close to worship me In any case don't worry about sticking out or not... just do what you feel like. Within legal bounderies of course. Luckily I never had the desire to hurt someone or steal something... if you have those.. you better control yourself

[mxgmer]

When I was younger I used to buck the system. I never did what was expected of me and really didn't work to my potential because I didn't WANT to fit in with anybody. In some ways I cheated myself by not doing the absolute best I could have but I did have a lot of fun! I rode my motorcycle across the US and Canada a couple of times (on credit cards no less; I told my mother if the banks stupid enough to give me a credit card I'm stupid enough to use it!) I had a blast, saw a lot of s**t, met some great people. I even lived in a tent with my dog for a time. I commuted by dirtbike in the snow when I lived in New England but not so much to be different but because every cent I had went to booze, pot and women. I chased women constantly (caught a few,too!) but I found myself 10 years behind where I should have been by the time I 'woke up'. There are a couple of better choices I could have made but the experiences more than make up for it. Now I'm the ultimate conformist: married, kids, house, 20 years at the same job and you know what? While everybody at work knows I'm a bit wacky I really don't stand out too much at all anymore and I couldn't be happier (all right if I win the lottery I might get a bit happier...)

[Grv]

The need to stand out, as shared by the majority, seems evolutionary. One needs to stand out from the competition in favor of claiming interest. This would suit all kinds of purposes, like the mental satisfaction derived from attention, or ultimately an increased chance for reproduction. This is in contrast to another feature shared by the majority, which is unquestionably evolutionary: adaptation increases chances for survival. Hence one needs to adapt to the masses in order to reap the benefits of socializing.

So It's not so odd that most people have a need to belong to some sort of group, but neither is it odd that most don't take satisfaction in being sheep #5756436756. Whether one 'cheats' oneself or not, fulfilling one's need or mental urges in either extreme is far more important for one's well-being than "being true to yourself" or than "conformity being the greatest sin".



So the question whether to stand out or not is in the end, as far as I'm concerned, not worth considering. Do as you feel like, which you will unless others exert their will onto you, and you'll do just as your state-of-mind requires you to do.

I myself seem to stand out in many varying ways, just as well as I seem to blend in in many varying ways. Either way, the question itself does not concern me now. Like Proto, I aspire to great heights, but that's all that concerns me.

[leo9986754]

stand out is good but sometimes you might just not want to stand out. iono what im saying but it means sense to me...