One of the very first long-form articles I wrote back in 2012! How to escape the matrix? in this life! It ain?t just a movie. It?s about life, work, passion and people.
Some of my views have changed somewhat, but the gist of the message here stays.
Yo wassup guys,
Today I want to write about something that is very important. It?s about the big Matrix, that is life.
It?s also about how to escape the matrix so we can be happy as fuck!
When you hear about the Matrix, everyone?s like, ?Oh that movie starring Keanu Reeves.?
Or to go a little deeper, the Matrix is the stimulated reality that humans are in. The Matrix hides the truth from humanity, allowing them to live a convincing, simulated life while machines grow and harvest people to use as an ongoing energy source.
Read that shit again:
?hides the truth from humanity, allowing them to live a convincing, simulated life?
Does that sound real or can you relate to that sentence in anyway? If you can?t, then yo, you probably are in the Matrix.
It?s time now, to learn how to escape the matrix!
The term Matrix came up to me when I was talking to a friend about life and shit. Not that we were being a couple of philosophical dudes but we exchanged views and ideas on believing in yourself and doing what you love.
I was basically talking about naysayers i.e. the bullies and that no one is there to encourage you, and he said it?s because they are caught in the Matrix.
Boom. Perfectly captured.
I am talking about the Matrix because the Matrix is very existent in our lives and many people are caught in it.
Like the movie, people are not aware of it, or rather, they are more or less aware of it, but they actually think it?s okay to be caught in the Matrix in its whole and not do a damn thing about it.
What is the modern day Matrix?
This is my definition:
The Matrix today is the reality that society has set upon us. Expectations based on mostly superficial importance, like money and career are highly prized. People get sucked into this to the point they don?t know how to escape the Matrix.
This is the lie of life as more important things like passion, following your heart, believing in yourself or just being happy aren?t deemed important.
The bigger lie is that people think this is very normal. And that? is a blunt truth.
This is why many people always feel there?s ?something missing? in their lives. And try as they might, they can?t find it to fill the void.
They only feel the void.
The Matrix way of life
- Study in school.
- Grow up.
- Get a job.
- Get money.
Repeat for the rest of your life and hope you can survive and be happy.
Does this sound familiar to you? Do you want to learn how to escape the matrix a.k.a. this shit?!
Let?s go a little deeper now:
You grow up and do what you are expected to do because you are told to do it and then you start to believe that you are supposed to do it.
Then you tell yourself it?s all ?normal? because ?everyone else is doing it anyway.?
This is when your boss is nagging at and putting you down and you believe every damn, bullshit thing he says. This is when you feel like shit everyday when you wake up to go to work and not care about the unhealthy side effects of it.
This is when your work overtime and call that time productive. This is the place where money goes hand in hand with your happiness.
The list goes on.
The Matrix is where average people who do not believe in themselves live and that?s where they do not amount to anything great.
That?s the general belief, as in to believe in the lie.
Mediocrity is also generally accepted then.
People also tend to seek norms to feel comfortable and then use these norms to deride those who dare to be different.
?Something is missing?
In the Matrix, the blind has been pulled over you. You can?t really see, with your heart.
You stop believing in yourself. You think you can?t amount anything great, like ?those rich guys? because you aren?t as lucky as them or that you aren?t special. You forget about following your passion or doing what you love due to circumstances or a bunch of excuses, which you call reasons. You care too much about what others think.
As such, the classic line comes to you, in your head or whatever, ?Something is missing.?
Then you tell yourself it?s okay. And seek minor comfort from your surroundings since it?s very very normal. You stop caring to embrace who you truly are. Some even end up depressed.
If you notice by now, the Matrix is a fucking vicious cycle.
So what is real?
What is real can always be up to you. What you see and how you live is up to you, but it is very important to follow your heart and recognize what you are to yourself, and not just to this world.
I don?t have the answers for you because at the end of the day you need to create them yourselves.
But I got a brief little guide right here and I hope it helps:
How to escape the Matrix
1) Start believing in yourself
One of the most basic rules in life, and yet not many people actually follow this.
It baffles and boggles my mind to why some people in life just don?t think they are great or can even amount to anything great. When they meet rich fucking millionaires or read about celebrities, they think of them as, ?those guys.?
And that?s that. Hell, what is really the difference between you and them? I say nothing. They may have a headstart, a little bit of luck or whatever, but it doesn?t mean you can?t have or do the same in life.
Remember, you are enormously significant and someone out there loves you today for who you are.
Believing in yourself may be cliche advice, so let me twist it the other way around for you:
Stop believing bullshit from others.
Block out all the noise from society, from the Matrix.
Your boss doesn?t know better, not even your mom does.
Others? judgement of you will never be perfect because you alone are single and special in your own individual way and it?s up to you to create your own path.
Just because others are caught up in their own thinking and way of life doesn?t mean you need to listen to them let alone be dragged down by them.
When someone says, ?You cannot?, just remember that they are not you and that it?s bullshit.
All the crap in the world will never be able to take away the one gift you have in your life, and that is hope.
2) Find your passion
Passion to me is extremely important in life. It?s that very special feeling that pretty much takes over everything in your very body.
When you feel passion, everything just becomes right and oh yeah, it makes you happy like shit.
Go for your passion.
I had to repeat that, because it?s passion. Something you love. It?s not a mild interest or something for you to dabble with from time to time. Passion is something that grows on you and you just know it?s going to stick to for the rest of your life.
It is passion that actually manages to fill that void and help to COMPLETELY erase that little voice that says, ?Something is missing.?
Take your time to find it. Don?t give up. It will be worth it.
3) Follow your passion
Then you need to follow your passion. Don?t abandon it. Don?t ever give it up for anyone or anything in the world. Just try to work towards going for what you love in life.
Because when you do follow your passion and start being true to yourself, good things will manifest in your life, be it in your mind or real tangible shit just coming to you.
4) Don?t give a fuck about others
Probably the most prominent theme of my blog, yup you got to not care what about what others think or say about you.
Because everyone else is caught in the Matrix, they will be all too keen to discourage the hell out of you from doing what you are doing. When they see that something or someone is different, it would be considered abnormal, and bad. People are generally afraid of others? success.
Having trouble being yourself and blocking out the noise? Here?s a neat guide by one of my favorite bloggers, Julien Smith: The Complete Guide To Not Giving A Fuck
5) Do epic shit
Get yourself to do something epic for yourself and for your life. Warning: It?s not going to be easy and it takes balls.
It?s stuff like getting yourself to quit your job on the spot if you don?t like it; telling your boss off; travelling to an unknown land; trying out a new sport, or dance.
Just be epic. Get it done. That make or break, do or die moment will be a complete breath of fresh air. Then you can be all cliched and be like, ?Oh yes quitting my job was hardest decision of my life. But it was a blessing in disguise.?
It takes balls. You gotta say, fuck it and do it.
Whatever, but the point is, when you gather up the courage and go for it, good things can happen to you.
Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus of The Minimalists write fantastic articles and essays on becoming a minimalist.
Joel Runyon runs a brilliant blog of doing impossible things. Aptly named the Blog of Impossible Things, he definitely does epic shit.
6) Help others
Sadly, the Matrix is all about classes and divide.
In the rat race for money, career and other shit, people tend to get too caught up in themselves and forget that everyone else is trying to live and be happy and are all the same. As such, people forget to help each other.
I am not saying most people are assholes, but for some reason being in the Matrix means you can?t really give out unconditional love. Everyone just wants something in return.
So just help others and you can make your life that little much better. It?s not a very hard concept to grasp.
Just recognize that you have a choice
?Hold it! Alden, you bloody douchebag. You are talking as if it?s so easy. Not many people have the luxury of life to do all that.?
Like, you can?t quit your job because you need money and probably to support your family right? I know.
It?s up to you to do epic shit. With that, I think it?s important to start off small, and slow, and that is to simply recognize that you have a choice.
Nobody or anything else in the world can take that away from you. Because at the end of the day, wherever you are, whoever you are, you can always ask yourself this, ?Is there more to life as it is??
And if you are caught in the Matrix, there?s a shit load more waiting for you. Whether it?s a hot girl, a new job you love, some crazy new thing for you to try out or just a new book, they are all waiting for you. Go get it.
By the way, you can pretty much understand why I left the Matrix from this personal entry I recently wrote about the death of my father. Is this a ?luxury of life? then?
It?s just choice?
Chill out. I am just asking you to stay true to yourself, not become some hippie douche like so:
I am going to end off this post with a video of Bboys from Circle of Fire crew doing their thing:
Watch it and see it for what it really is. It?s not just a bunch of guys showing off and dancing in public. It?s expression. It?s simply being free. These guys definitely know how to escape the Matrix!
Also, at the end, someone talks about the Matrix? See? I am not just some deluded douchebag ranting about a movie or being a blowhard.
I hope you have a clear idea about how to escape the Matrix now!
www.Alden-Tan.com
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