DAY
320
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”
— John F. Kennedy
Ty moved from a small town in Wyoming to a suburb of Boston with his family. He was a junior in high school, and he stuck out in his new school. They treated him like he was from another planet. The students all dressed pretty much alike. They looked to Ty as if they were about to spend the day at the yacht club. Ty showed up in cowboy boots and a western-style shirt. He did not conform in any way to their unspoken dress code, and at first he drew quite a few stares and some immature comments.
Luckily, Ty was pretty comfortable with himself, especially for a teenager. He was content with his clothes, and he had no intention of changing his style just because he was in a new location. Within a month or two, cowboy boots started to show up as a new fashion trend in his school.
How often do you conform to your surroundings? Do you tend to follow the lead of others and imitate what they do, or are you the one who sets the trend?
Conformity can really slow down your growth. You stop thinking for yourself when you conform. Instead, you follow the decisions someone else made for you rather than coming to your own conclusions and making your own choices. Write in your journal today about the ways in which you conform to societal pressures. What changes can you make in your daily life to lessen your conformity and increase your opportunity for growth?
DAY
321
“Solitude is as needful to the imagination as society is wholesome for the character.”
— James Russell Lowell
There are times when it’s good to be around other people, and there are times when you need to be alone. Both will help you to grow in different ways. Do you have a good balance between the time you spend participating in society and the time you spend in solitude? Some people are the life of the party, but they’re afraid to be alone. Others are very uncomfortable in social situations, but they cherish their alone time. Where do you fall on that continuum?
Draw a line on a piece of paper and write “social butterfly” on one end of the line and “hermit” on the other end. Then draw a big X on where you think you fall along that line. Do you enjoy solitude more than companionship, or is it the other way around? It is important to make an honest diagnosis of where you sit right now before you start to even think about making any possible adjustments.
Next, start a new page in your journal and write down all of the advantages of taking an active part in society. Act as if you have just become the PR representative for society, and you have to come up with a new ad campaign. What are the best things about having the ability to interact with others? Then turn the page and do the same thing for solitude. You are now on the solitude campaign. What’s so great about being alone? Talk up all of the advantages of taking some time for yourself.
Solitude and society are partners in your journey toward success. Take some time today to explore the advantages of each of them.
DAY
322
“If you don’t like being in your own company, what makes you think others will?”
— Anonymous
A very important part of being comfortable in your own skin is to be able to spend time alone without going crazy. Does it make you uncomfortable to spend time alone? Maybe you would love five minutes to yourself, but you don’t know when that will happen because your life is packed full of people and obligations.
The importance of solitude cannot be stressed enough. You have to nourish your soul by giving yourself some breathing room every once in awhile. The best way to do that is to spend a few moments alone.
It doesn’t matter whether you are comfortable with solitude or not, you must make it a part of your weekly—if not daily—routine. If you enjoy your solitude already, then this will be a fun exercise. If you are afraid to be alone, it will get easier with practice. You will have a much more difficult time achieving your dreams if you don’t take the time to reach inward and spend some minutes in your own company.
Your assignment is to find at least ten minutes every day to be alone. If you live in a busy household, that might mean setting your alarm ten minutes early or staying up a little while after everyone has gone to sleep. Why is this so important?
If you are asking that question, then you probably haven’t stopped and taken the time to get to know you. Don’t you think it might be a good idea to interview the main character? As the quote above suggestions, if you don’t like being in your own company, what makes you think someone else will?
DAY
323
“A solitude is the audience chamber of God.”
— Walter Savage Landor
Today you have another opportunity to consider the advantages of spending some time in solitude. When you are alone, you aren’t truly alone. You are spending time with God.
You don’t have to be a believer to feel the power of this statement. God can be anything you want it to be. God may be the power of the universe or the power of the potential that lies within you. God might be all of the things you have yet to learn. You get to pick your image or understanding of God when you spend time alone. No one will tell you you’re doing it wrong.
When you sit in solitude, you get to tap into your intuition and let your dreams flow without being inhibited by the influence of others. You get to taste your true potential when you spend time alone. If you are skeptical, practice being by yourself and see what happens. Many people find that some of their greatest innovations float to the surface when they take the time to seek out a quiet place to be by themselves for awhile. Solitude also allows you to slow down for just a moment. It’s incredibly refreshing to stop doing for awhile and just be.
Your assignment is to spend at least twenty minutes alone today and ponder your own understanding of God. Enjoy your solitude.
DAY
324
“We live in a very tense society. We are pulled apart . . . and we all need to learn how to pull ourselves together . . . I think that at least part of the answer lies in solitude.”
— Helen Hayes
Sophia lived the life of a typical working mother in the twenty-first century. Her day was a swirl of cell phones, computers, commuting, kids, and family. Her hectic schedule was not unique. Sophia’s fears and hopes were much the same as anyone else’s. But Sophia seemed a little more “together” than her counterparts at corporate meetings and soccer games. What was her secret? It was a love affair . . . with solitude. She made a date with solitude every single day.