4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Follow a Program
It’s the end of the year and my email and social media feed is full of people with offers to join their programs. Everybody’s got a program for something. If you’re being bombarded too, let me give you six reasons why you shouldn’t follow a program.
What’s a Program?
One of the definitions of “program” from the Miriam-Webster dictionary is “a sequence of coded instructions that can be inserted into a mechanism (such as a computer).”
Programmed traffic lights know when to change colors so that cars don’t run into each other.
School zone indicators are programmed to come on during the hours just before and after school so traffic can slow down for the children.
We can program our coffee pot to make coffee before we wake up in the morning.
So, a “program” is an embedded instruction that is inserted into you to make you do something. It allows you to turn off your consciousness and act on auto-pilot. Is that what you want?
Examples of Every Day Programs
Programs are all around us. They are so common that we overlook them and follow them blindly. Here are some examples.
School. Each grade as a curriculum and the child learns what’s in the program. They are taught to pass a test. This is why curiosity is killed and kids don’t learn how to think.Entertainment. In the 60s, Jeannie from the I Dream of Jeannie tv show couldn’t show her navel because of censors. On television today, we hear every curse word in the book. We see full frontal nudity, sex, and war violence. We are so regularly vicariously traumatized that people don’t recognize that it’s damaging.Advertising. We’re all fed a steady diet of ads that make us desire shiny, new, pretty things and make us feel inadequate if we have a pimple, extra pounds, the wrong shoes, or an old car. Elections. Every election each candidate’s job is to make himself look good and her opponents look bad. This results in lies, half-truths, and propaganda that isn’t about serving the populace, but looking good and winning votes.
Four Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Follow a Program
People follow programs because they are easy. They help us to fit in. Programs normalize things and give us a well worn path so we don’t have to think.
Those are the benefits.
Here are 4 seasons why you shouldn’t follow a program.
You’re an individual, not a robot. Programs are for inanimate objects, not people. People need unique solutions for their unique situations. While 80 or even 90% of a plan might be general – we’re all humans after all – the rest should fit you.Programs lull you to sleep. If you want to live a conscious life, that’s exactly what you don’t want.Following the crowd leads to groupthink. This kills progress and innovation. It leads to poor decision making and a reluctance for others to be honest and give critical feedback. If you want the path to mediocrity, groupthink is it!”Good” sons and daughters who follow their parents’ outline for their lives tend to grow up to feel that they aren’t leading their own lives. We’re meant to create our lives, not follow someone else’s design for what our lives should look like.
If you’re in a “figuring it out” phase and want some help, come on over to the Tribe.
We’re not a “program.” We’re a community of people who are figuring it out using nature as our guide. You’ll be respected, supported, and have the opportunity to figure out what works for you by experiencing things for yourself.
So, when you get to the point of knowing that something is for you, it won’t be because someone else told you, but because you have a gut sense that you’re on target. Don’t you want that certainty for yourself?
Come on over. It’s free!