Monotony

Hey guys,

So the other day I was thinking about variability. Or rather, the lack thereof. Essentially, I was wondering: are we, as a society, naturally inclined to be conformists, or do we yearn for versatility and escape from the ennui of daily life? And is this yearning an innate instinct or do we simply make ourselves believe we must desire this as a kind of knee-jerk reaction to the monotony we’re constantly surrounded with?

I mean, okay, first of all, let’s take a look at some rather extreme versions of monotony. Also known as Hitler’s Nazimania. Also also known as Stalin’s Soviet “Garden of Human Happiness”. (I’m sure you can substitute your own favourite dictatorship here).

Basically, we know the drill: the Marxist ideology of “one size fits all” was implemented, with a slightly one-sided triumphant score playing in the background, fists were thrown into the air, mustaches passionately danced to the tune of uniformity, and then, BOOM, soon enough, the people revolted.

Why? you might ask. Why is it that, in theory, we all want “equality for all” and “no class distinction”, but when put to action, we feel violated and thieved of our most basic human right: the liberty to be different, do different things, “shake things up”?

Is it because we fear tediousness? Or rather, is it because we fear change?

I believe it’s both of these things. Deep inside of our DNA, engraved in our nucleotides, is the inherent desire for excitement. It is not natural for us to sustain the amount of monotony we are constantly susceptible to in our daily lives. Think about it. How many average U.S. adults complain about their “damn office job”, their “cramped cubicle”, their “overbearing boss”? Actually, according to this Gallup survey, over 70% do.

I know that my life is pretty much the same every single day. I wake up at 5:30 AM, dance a little to some Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, get ready/try not to look like I’m Micheal Jackson on the set of Thriller, go to school for 8 hours, come home, take a 15-minute (cough 30-minute) power nap, study, eat, study some more, use my dog as an excuse to procrastinate, study again, cry a little, sleep, and then start the cycle all over again. And I’m sure at least half of the population can agree that their life is not dissimilar to mine.

But why? Why do we insist on following these patterns, these well-paved roads of repetition, every single day of our existence? It’s not that we don’t have enough nerve. It’s simply a matter of fear.

Ah, yes. Fear. That lovely, lovely word we all run away from like the plague. The thief of “manliness”. The Krazy Glue that keeps us from doing what we want to do. Hesitation. Passiveness. Cowardice. Fear’s three best friends are also what has held back so many of us from pursuing our dreams, leaving everything with wild abandon and becoming who we were truly meant to be. And that all goes back to comfort. It is this safety blanket, the cozy warmth of the familiar, that convinces us that routine is rudimentary to having a happy, fulfilling life. But it isn’t. Staying within the circumscribed boundaries of your comfort zone, where you know the rules and even the unexpected has already been pre-planned for, is the most damaging thing a human can do.

We were gifted with the beautiful ability of free will. Sure, in the wrong hands, free will is also used to shake things a little too much, but that doesn’t mean it should be sacrificed for the sake of societal acceptance. Next time you look down on another “crazy college kid” embarking on the adventure of a lifetime in the form of a gap year in lieu of the traditional university route, take a hard look at your own life. When was the last time you tried something new? Maybe drove a little farther north and explored a new restaurant? Called your favourite author and broke the news that you’re their actual number one fan? Live a little.

It takes a certain level of courage and confidence to face the humdrum of daily life and kick it squarely in the bottom. Take a page out of Thoreau’s book (I take that back, don’t actually, that’s defamation of a piece of well-loved literature). When he abandoned all “normality” for the sake of the unknown and in the hopes of unlocking his natural state of liberty and variability, he found a truer form of happiness than any man who stays within the glassed-in limits of uniformity.

The young rapscallion of a man named Waldo Emerson once said, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of everyone of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.”