Last night while dancing in the Washington Square fountain, I started to think about inhibitions. Where do they come from and why do we have them? Weโre completely free as children when it comes to instinct. If we want to cry, we cry. We create entire scenarios and worlds based off of whatever we choose. We donโt care to make a fool of ourselves as long as we complete our objective. So, why after years of being who we are and learning about ourselves do we get more and more restrained?ย
Of course, you have those that naturally do what they want and usually end up succeeding when it comes to their choices. Theyโre carefree and bold, but sometimes we label them as insecure and attention seeking. Weโre taught so early that if you donโt follow the same path as everyone else, you wonโt make it to where you want to be. Itโs funny to think about because everyoneโs paths are always going to be inherently different. Yes, we can end up applying for the same jobs as our peers, but the journey is never going to be the same. So, where did the inhibitions start?
Some say it starts as children, which I feel that with everything whether it be good or bad can start off when weโre kids. I also want to say however that it starts with the adults in our lives; the incessant nagging and rhetoric that comes along with growing up. Yes, of course we need to learn how to behave in certain situations, but isnโt it detrimental to the growing psyche to be told to second guess everything you do and that, โno, youโre wrong. This is the right way of doing things,โ is actually harmful in the long run.ย
What if we were to say instead of constantly telling the younger generations, โNo. You canโt do that,โ or, โNo, that isnโt right,โ we start exploring new ways of teaching and/or discipline. Instead of writing them off right off the bat, why not try to see how they got there in the first place and find out how their brain works. Weโre all unique and different when it comes to who we are and how we learn, and our journey of education, whether that be actual schooling or just how to live in general, should try to accommodate that.
That can be a bit of a pipe dream especially with learning institutions, but when it comes to the study of living itโs not just a skip, hop, and a run down the yellow brick road. Life is inherently difficult in and of itself. Yes, there are those born with privilege, and yes, quite frankly, there are those that are never going to experience the rougher side of life; however, thereโs nothing we can really do about that tax bracket unless we work in the hierarchy of our own government.ย
There is one thing we can do though: we can break generational cycles and teach a new way of living. Maybe then weโll be less inclined to second guess ourselves and more inclined to trust our instincts and do the things that set us free.