The chances are very probable that when a person uncovers themselves, they would want to step out of mainstream society—not easily done, and that person’s Factor-x will likely kick in and hold them back like crazy. At first, it’s likely they’d want to walk their journey within society, within their current environment. Staying within mainstream society seems easier: The change wouldn’t be so severe, and would be more suited to their Factor-x, which is on the quest to disprove that it exists. Stepping out of mainstream society could be construed as that something is seriously wrong with them, and this isn’t at all acceptable to our Factor-x.
However and with time, as they walk their journey as guided by their meaning, they will want to step out of mainstream society to apply their trade in a way more conducive and humane than what mainstream and working conventionally provides.
Stepping out of mainstream society in itself is likely to be a scary dynamic, not for the fainthearted. Stepping out doesn’t have to be scary, but scary it will be. This only becomes possible after we see and acknowledge that we desire to step out of mainstream society.
By looking carefully at our individual circumstances, and with some planning and being realistic about where we’re heading and how we could get there, we can gradually make the desired transition.
But, bear in mind that by having uncovered our Factor-x and our meaning, we’re likely emotionally loaded. When walking our own journey, as opposed to being dictated to and driven by our Factor-x, it’s unlikely that we would take care of ourselves in any lesser way. What might happen, and is likely to happen, is that due to our value system shifting continuously, the lifestyle we’re used to will change—different things are likely important to us now. We’ll likely take care of ourselves in a suitable way, but from a different perspective: one that’s more conducive to our needs and that serves us. And as we walk our newfound path, we’ll notice that pleasing our Factor-x is based on very different values, ones not necessarily conducive to our well-being, whereas taking care of ourselves as guided by our meaning is conducive to our needs and our well-being and will serve us, as well as everyone and everything else. When we serve ourselves by living our meaning, we automatically serve all else, and everyone else.
By standing up, and making this transition, you will likely be frowned upon by those close to you. To others it might appear as if you’ve “lost it,” as if you’re rebelling against things familiar to everyone. Support from others might not be there. Friendships might end. Other relationships might end. Almost no one will understand what you’re about, because others—who haven’t come to the same conclusions and realizations as you—might see you as out of kilter with everyone else. The exception will be others who’ve also made this self-discovery and are walking their own path based on their own meaning, as you are.
When you attempt to step out—to break out of the mold you’ve been in—it might be difficult at times. This is true even if you’ve only been in your mold for a short time. Those close to you might want to prevent you from making changes in your lives. And again, some might even break off their friendship. Or, you might want to break off friendships or even marriages or relationships. What you’ll notice, as mentioned earlier, is that things have different values when you bring your meaning to what you do. Previously, when dictated to or driven by our Factor-x, almost everything had a different value. Now, those values have transitioned. We’re likely to seem to be different people, even to ourselves, since such a transition does change us almost completely.
Yet we don’t need to be reckless. We can make the transitioning from mainstream society as easy or as difficult as we’d like it to be. This depends on how much we let our Factor-x fight us about our desire to take charge of our lives. Your newfound self will likely lack experience in taking charge of your new journey. You’re likely to lack confidence at times, or be still raw emotionally from the realizations you’ve made about yourself and how your life was dictated to by your Factor-x.
In short, you might feel too inexperienced to make this new journey, and might even struggle to accept the new ways as guided by your meaning. This is understandable. After all, this is likely to be a strange world you’re entering; one that requires you to stand up and be counted in what you do and how you walk your journey.
Either way, as mentioned before, once we make these realizations, we’re likely to want to get out of the mainstream. This, in itself, is most likely fraught with difficulty. As we enter this new world presented to us by our meaning, and as we stand up to step out of mainstream society, we’re likely to encounter several crossroads. You might even be tempted to just give up, lacking the courage for some of the steps along the path. You might actually struggle and give up; or, you might struggle and see the light, so to speak, and move beyond the crossroads.
You could also take the transition calmly, gain the newly required life skills, work out a plan that suits you, take it slowly, implement your plan one small step at a time, and make a slow transition from where you are to where you would like to be. It can take as long as is needed, after all. By example, after conception, no matter what you do about it, birth happens in a specific length of time. In the same way, your planned transition can take as long as is necessary.
You can also take no action at all, and allow things to continue just as they are, to remain at a place where you don’t want to be. You see the lack of meaning in your life, that you’re likely just a product of your environment and your circumstances; thus, that you carry all the pain that comes from such a way of life. Yet if you are doing something about it, even in small steps, that’s when your meaning is at work.
Once our meaning is at work and we stall for whatever reason, pain will again most likely set in because of our Factor-x again having taken charge. For those of us who take action, however, when we make a plan and work it, and adjust it as we get increasing courage, confidence and life skills, we can eventually stand up and step out of mainstream society’s ways. It might take up to five or ten years or more, and our journey could be fun or just heartache. But once we breach the point where our confidence in our own path outweighs our Factor-x, it’s likely to become easier, and even fun.
Making a plan and working it—in your case, a plan for the transition toward standing up and stepping out of the mainstream—is likely to serve you well, no matter how long it takes or how much you struggle while on the journey. It doesn’t matter if you have limited life skills. It doesn’t matter if you have few resources. What does matter is your intention, and that you see where you are and that you recognize that you don’t like it there. When we recognize that where we are in our lives doesn’t serve us, and we then make our plan and work that plan irrespective of the consequences, all that’s important is that we want to make the journey because that’s what we’d like to do with our lives.
