As a young man stuck in the dulls of small town suburbia, I gravitated toward the punk rock ethos of “F Authority.” 

It was perfect. Easy to understand and easy to apply to teachers, parents or anyone who wanted to tell me what to do. It served me well as a teen. But eventually I ‘matured’ and changed this motto to ‘Question Authority.’ And this has been a game changer which has been a part of my daily thinking since I moved my punk rock records to the back of my vinyl stash.

Why question authority? Because the so called ‘authorities’ are everywhere. Between educational institutions, marketing messages, friends and family and the culture in general, we are constantly bombarded with ideas about what’s right and good for us. And I have to say, that although hopefully your friends and fam are at least trying to help you out, the rest of them are typically not really on your side.

When we pay attention to these messages and the assumptions around them about how we’re supposed to live, it’s much easier to first identify what these things are. Once we can identify them, then we can actually decide if they’re aligned with our values. If we’re not conscious of this stuff, we’re much more likely to find ourselves in lives that are not aligned with our truths, values and creativity.

And that sucks.

So just pay attention to your assumptions and to all of the noise around you. Filter in the goodness. Tune out the BS. And make conscious choices and take real action around what you know is right for you. Dig?

*  *  *

What happens when you make decisions and take actions that are not aligned with who you really are? What happens when you do?