Societal Approval

From a very young age children learn that society dictates the flow of life around them. Society decides what is popular, what is beautiful, and what is important in life. There is a pressure to maintain societal approval because without it a person will not be successful or have a lot of friends. However, it is important to determine how necessary societal approval is and how far you are willing to go to achieve that approval.

Many people struggle with the need to have societal approval their entire life. If you do not fit into one of societies little boxes then it can be even more difficult for you. People that are gay, polygamist, or live another alternative lifestyle often struggle on whether or not to let the world in on their chosen lifestyle. While, these things are not a choice for them, but who they are, society may deem otherwise and rule them as an outcast because of them.

This fear leads people to often do one of two things. Some people end up avoiding their needs altogether and living in the shadow of society in hopes that they will attain societal approval. This could mean a homosexual man ends up getting married to a woman or a polygamist man opts to just have one wife out of a need to be accepted by their peers.

Other people live their lives hiding. For example, if they are in love with someone and they think society will not accept their relationship then they choose to hide the relationship in order to try and receive societal approval. Unfortunately, in both instances people have the ability to get hurt and ruin their own lives and their relationships out of a need to be accepted.

What people fail to realize is that society is made up by all people in one area or the world as a whole. If everyone stood up for themselves and the things they believed in then society would be more accepting of differences. This would cause the minority beliefs to gain more importance and more respect. Meanwhile, those less tolerant would become the minority and would be forced to either accept the differences they are not fond of or suffer the un-acceptance of societal approval.

In the end, society and societal approval is only as important as someone chooses to make it. There are many happy, healthy, and successful people that choose to live their own lives and not live for society. This makes a person happier in the end because they are able to do things that they need in order to feel fulfilled. If you choose to live for society you are leaving yourself out of the equation.

Before you make the choice to give up something you love or to hide who you are ask yourself if societal approval is more important then your own happiness and self-acceptance. Eventually you will begin to disapprove of your own actions of hiding and lying to society in order to get them to like you. This is important to consider because without a proper ability to accept yourself you will never achieve happiness, self-worthiness, or love of yourself. If you do not love yourself then how can anyone else love you? They can’t and they won’t.