STRIP FROM SOCIETY
Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the biggest liar of us all? Not you nor me but Society. We all lie, and explain away our lies with reasons galore because we have to. But it so seems that society is the fattest liar of us all.
SOCIETY TOLD ME I AM ALWAYS WRONG
False Pretentions We are constantly pressured by society to look and be a certain way. It is untill we realise that it is all lies, that we can live our lives being the person we truly are.
It may be difficult for many because our minds have been manipulated over the years to believe certain ideas and concepts that just aren’t true. We go into the world and into relationships with false expectations and look for people to behave certain ways to us or for things to come our way when and how we want them to. The fact of the matter is, life doesn’t work that way.
What's Considered “Acceptable”
being beautiful is most important This is one of the biggest lies that just won’t go away. Body image. Over the years we’ve been told what we’re supposed to look like. If we don’t look that way then we’re subpar or less than the image being portrayed. Unfortunately, people have become so engrossed in this lie; they’ve gone to the extremes to obtain this so called perfect look. With plastic surgery alone, procedure percentages have gone up 37% since 2000 and continue to rise every year according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. We get slammed with false body images every day with tv commercials, mannequins in the shopping windows, magazine
SOCIETY TOLD ME TO HIDE EVERY BLEMISH
covers, sports events, and so on. It’s everywhere – women and men with “perfect” bodies. Well, what did they go through to achieve that look? Are we even looking at an actual body, or is it something that’s been airbrushed and photo shopped 10 times over? We’re striving to achieve a look that’s not even real! Models will tell you themselves that they have cellulite. But yet everyone, meaning children and adults, feel pressured to look like what they see on tv and the image doesn’t even exist. People have gone to disturbing lengths to achieve a look they think will be accepted by society. What society doesn’t tell you is the struggles’ with bulimia and anorexia women suffer, or the wigs and hair
extensions that have destroyed their natural hair – including men. See if you can find out how some of these people on tv look like when they wake up in the morning….make up does wonders. Stop believing the hype. We come in different shades, shapes and sizes. It would be one boring planet if everyone looked the same, walking around with manufactured bodies. It wouldn’t make sense. Of course there's nothing wrong with fixing yourself up to look presentable but there's no need for the drastic alterations. Be yourself.
SOCIETY TOLD ME I AM TOO OLD TO HAVE KIDS
Parenting superstitions If you are a parent already, you know what I mean. If you are not, this might drive you away from becoming one! Soon as your baby arrives, Society walks in like a doctor and pours into your brain myths and superstitions that are silly to say the least. Pure lies, as it passes on these vagaries as wisdom for your well-being. Do not see the lines on their hands till they are 12 or they will not be successful, do not throw a baby’s leftovers down the drain or he will fall ill, don’t eat greens when breast-feeding or your baby’s skin will turn green and do not share the room with your husband till your child is 10 years old. Ok. We exaggerate the last one a wee bit! But then, what’s a teeny bit of hyperbole on our part when a million such nonsensical lies are doing their rounds as truths to be feared and hence followed?
Be married by a certain age or something is wrong with you There may be more pressure from certain cultures than others, but overall marriage always becomes an issue once you’ve reached a certain age and you’re still single, particularly mid-30’s (for most folks at least). All the questions start flooding in from the relatives; “you don’t want to get married?” “Why haven’t you settled down yet, what are you waiting for?” They make accusations; question your health, anything you can think of. Then if you’re not married by a certain age, they just kind of give up on you as if it will never happen. Well, everyone has a different walk in life and people do not get married by age 22 anymore. So many changes in the world have taken place that has affected lifestyles and
choices people make in terms of “settling down”. People have career goals they want to accomplish or they just haven’t met the person they want to be with yet. If you’re that person please be advised that there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re not abnormal because you’re 30-plus and haven’t settled. If that’s what you ultimately want, it will happen for you. In the meantime just ignore Aunty and her crazy comments. The worst thing you can do to yourself is get into a marriage out of desperation or because you feel you’re running out of time. It will only serve as a setback for you. If marriage is not for you, that's fine because not everyone wants to be married.
BEING BEAUTIFUL IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BEING BRIGHT
The more degrees you have the more successful you’ll be
Degrees are important, but they are not all, as Society makes it out to be. What makes or mars a man is not the formal education that he acquired, but also the parenting he received at home, professional experience he gained at work, the kind of friends who kept him company and the pick-up line he used last without any success (OK. Not so much the last bit, I agree!) And then, at the extreme end of the less-educated but super successful spectrum we have Sachin Tendulkar, Bill Gates and thousands of others telling us how paying lakhs for a degree is not essential to become learned but being really learned and skillful can fetch you those lakhs for sure. There’s more to education than meets the Society’s eye, as it lies to make us believe a folder-full of degrees will take us to the beach on the moon!
SOCIETY TOLD ME Degrees are all
SOCIETY TOLD ME CONFIDENCE IS ARROGANT
you can’t handle a life on your own
Men are for fixing the pipes and paying the bills, right? Don’t let yourself be scared into a life you don’t want because you think you can’t function on your own. This is more than just in marriage, though. Some people don’t even want to be single and not in a relationship, they need to feel wanted and worthy because someone else wants them and sees them as worthy. Letting somebody else give you your sense of worth is one of the worst things you can do to yourself. Trust me.
a career is something you pursue when you don’t have love This actually can be the case for some people, but for others, remember that the concept of a “career” doesn’t necessarily mean a job that you hate that you’re just in for the money. If you really find your passion that fills you up like any other kind of love would, it’s more than just a job, and we call it a career, but really, it’s selffulfilling and not reliant on anybody else. It’s something very much worth pursuing for those reasons alone.
society has taught to perfect phonine pretend that every is okay when it’s no
Let’s face it – your dog dies, you didn’t get that promotion you wanted, and your bank account balance is just pitiful. Life can definitely hand us our moments when it gets ready. It has its ups and downs – it’s not wonderful all the time nor is it perfect. Things happen, we make bad choices, or things get to the best of us.
The harsh reality is, there is no “happily ever after” people and situations will work your nerves and rub you the wrong way. The good news is these moments NEVER last. They come and they go so we have to know how to handle them when they are present. There is no getting around them or daydreaming your way
t us ess and ything ot. Life is so wonderful and dreamy with no bumps along the way through those moments. It’s a matter of going through them and society has not prepared us for those moments. Let’s not pretend they’re not there, gear up and deal with life’s hard knocks – we’ll be stronger and better at the end of the day.
society told me to change if it helps people like me
There is such a thing as a perfect family
The mom and dad with 2.5 kids and a dog named Fido needs to be put on the shelf already. The children always respond to situations correctly and mom and dad never fight. Having these elements in a house doesn’t necessarily equate a perfect, nurturing family. These days there are more single-parent homes than ever. Not that it’s a good thing, but that type of family is still able to function and equip the children in those homes to be productive in their lives.
marriage is happness, singledom is not It’s as though we have been conditioned to believe our lives will not be complete or happy if we don’t have a romantic relationship. Of course it’s wonderful when it works out, but there are plenty of other things that are wonderful as well. Being in a relationship and being married does NOT necessarily mean you are in love or that you are happy, just as being single does not mean you are miserable and unwanted. At the same time there are families with both parents in the home and it is the most dysfunctional place to be in. We’ve had images of “perfect” families presented to us for years through television and movies telling us “this is what a perfect family consists of”. There’s the big beautiful home off in the suburbs somewhere and dad drives to work every morning while mom sends the kids to school and stays home making cupcakes all day. There are never any mishaps,
no one gets tired or frustrated, and everything just goes smoothly 100 percent of the time. There’s nothing wrong with wanting these things at all. The problem comes when people think their own family is less than the image of perfection being portrayed. Looks can be deceiving, so it doesn’t pay to compare your children to what you think is perfect. The same goes for spouses who want their significant other to be a certain way.
SOCIETY TOLD ME skinny is healthy
NOONE CAN LOVE A FAT AND UGLY PERSON
THAT MY SELF WORTH IS DETERMINED BY OTHERS
People will often disguise a plight to influence weight loss behind “I just want you to be healthy and do what’s best for you.” Skinny does not always mean healthy. You can have a whole slew of health problems from being too thin as you can from being too heavy. What’s more is that stressing out over not being the right size is even more detrimental to your health than simply being a little out of shape is. Keep your health separate from the idea that it will necessarily translate thinness and focus on habits that will actually make you healthier, not skinnier.
STRIP FROM the lies