Ways we can empower ourselves to step out of The Matrix
We can step out of The Matrix by intentionally expanding our horizons and opening up our minds to different viewpoints and ways of living. As humans, we each have biases, political dogmas, and beliefs that are ingrained in us early on as children. The environment we grew up in can affect how we come to conclusions, regard others, and most importantly, judge ourselves. Today I will share my best tips for not being a cog in the machine doing the same thing every day without reflecting on ourselves and our contributions to our environment.
If you have watched The Matrix, you are familiar with the concept of Neo being presented with the choice of taking a Red pill or a Blue pill. In this post, the Blue pill represents doing only what is expected of us w/o intentional research of other options (which can lead to stagnancy, upholding the status quo& intolerance of others’ beliefs). In contrast, the Red pill leads to a path of continually growing, and choosing curiosity before rejecting (which can lead to embracing different cultures, making informed decisions & acting for the collective good of humankind). Which do you choose?
Examine your mental programming
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I challenge myself to hear other perspectives even if I don’t agree with them because you never know what you can learn from others! Yes, I still feel that internal urge to cringe and yell YOU’RE WRONG, but the more you practice exposing yourself to others’ perspectives the less you feel the need to invalidate their opinions. For example, try going on YouTube and listening to other political parties’ thoughts and ideas. Then as an exercise, you can compare any similarities or identify areas where you may have common ground and where compromises could be made. While this won’t change the nature of politics, it can be useful. Maybe you discover that you want to vote differently due to your new tax bracket, or you decide you want to invest more in the public. This helps you become a well-informed citizen and destroys any rhetoric about the people on the other side of the coin programmed in your mind by the media and your family.
Travel and interact with the locals
Traveling can help you expand your mind outside of your usual environment. If traveling out of the country is not affordable in this time frame, you can look up local events in your area that celebrates different cultures and go to these events with an open mind and without judgment. Recently I went to an event called the Festival of India in my area and had a blast! You can look at my IG post about it above to see some pictures from that outing!
Another travel tip is to look for states surrounding where you live where you could do a day trip or a weekend trip and explore the area. I love beaches so I like to look up beaches within a certain distance that I’m comfortable with driving to within 3-6 hours away so I can get the experience without the high costs of flying. We are in the age of technology and blessed with Google where we can search for anything and get an answer quickly! Instead of spending time reading the doom and gloom news, you can choose to use your time to start planning a local trip, or looking up local events, festivals, and parades.
Learn a new language
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In my opinion, learning a new language has many advantages and no disadvantages. You can even use this as a skill to sell yourself in future interviews! Also, this can be a great way to meet new people; plenty of meetups & groups get together and practice languages. Doing this can help you with the previous tip to challenge your programmed way of thinking.
Learning a new language will help you appreciate a different culture which may influence your political dogmas for the better. Knowing how hard it can be to speak another language fluently helps you gain respect for others who don’t speak your nation’s language as a native. An added benefit is the feeling of empowerment that you get when you step outside of your comfort zone and try something new!
Make a bucket list
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Having a bucket list can give you a reason to be happy to live with something to look forward to! What I love about bucket lists is that you don’t have to only have big-ticket items on them, you can choose to add low-cost activities and ideas as well. I read the book, The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin, and got inspired by the author’s book’s premise. She implemented the idea of doing one thing per month differently than what she usually does in multiple areas of her life and then wrote about her experience. I recommend reading this book to get some ideas as it can be a great starting point for your own bucket list!
Revaluate where & when you check the news
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While it is a good idea to be aware of what is going on and stay prepared for emergencies, reject the notion that you must stay informed and be on guard 24/7. If you check the news daily, change it to weekly, if weekly change it to biweekly, etc. Drastically changing the amount of negativity you input in your mind will help you not ruminate on other people’s hardships, how their hardships could affect you, and who is hurting others in the world. If you normally go to one platform for news updates, switch things up and go to a new source instead.
Volunteer for a cause you care about
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Nothing reminds you to be more grateful for what you have in this world than helping those that are less fortunate than you. It’s hard to remain a heartless tin man after being selfless and giving your time to others.
Fill your heart full of joy and kindness! In my previous tip, I mentioned that we shouldn’t intake news of other hardships which may seem like a contradiction to this point. I believe there’s a difference between repeatedly listening to the world’s struggles that you can do nothing about and instead devoting your time to volunteer in the areas that you are really affected by. I used to be guilty of spending a lot of my time reading Twitter or Reddit threads regarding the injustices in my community. Eventually, I woke up and realized I can empower myself to find where to volunteer and not spend so much time in anger.
For example, instead of grumbling about how many homeless people there are & the government not doing enough about this; we can look up a local shelter or kitchen that needs volunteers to pass out food, clean the kitchen, or even handle administrative tasks like marketing and soliciting for funds to help the cause. I guarantee you that dedicating that time will leave you much more fulfilled than just sitting at home and complaining!
Let’s all challenge ourselves to become out-of-the-box critical thinkers that stretch and push our mental limits! We can encourage others our age by leading by example. Not everybody will come on the journey initially. The few people who can still make a difference in changing our world to an inclusive place with aligned policies and equal rights for the betterment of everybody’s wellbeing!
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Leave a comment below sharing which pill you chose and your favorite ways to step out of the matrix! Enjoy the journey of becoming your own NEO!