Gain From Your Culture

In a previously article entitled “You Are Where You Live” the focus was on bettering one’s self by bettering one’s environment. This article is a continuation of that first one with an added insight on how to make use of the social and cultural conditions that make up one’s society and community.

Social conditioning is one of the most influential ways of learning, through which we are encouraged to abide by certain rules of conduct and thus directly and indirectly learn how to behave. These messages are presented through a range of means, including the various forms of media, our schools and social institutions, inherited and adopted traditions, political pressure, and so on.

Many of us are familiar with the negative aspects of social conditioning in which teenagers may be subdued by social pressure (whether these are liminal or sub-liminal influences) into self-destructive or rebellious behaviour. There have been many debates on the how to control the exposure young people have to various forms of media because of its known negative effects. But the flipside is also true. One can learn moral and ethical behaviour in the same way.

In addition to attempts to remove one’s self and/or family from negative influences of the social and cultural environment in which we are submerged on a daily basis, one can be purposefully exposed to selected influences for positive growth.

In an earlier article entitled “Choose Your Friends Wisely”, I explained how we use the people in our social network as role models, whether positive or negative, and can be selective of certain characters or traits we desire and look for a social group accordingly. A similar phenomenon can occur for one’s social and cultural community. If there are certain beliefs and values we seek to foster then we can choose to live in a society in which that particular way of life is cultivated.

For instance, an eco-friendly lifestyle may be difficult to cultivate in a busy city in which pollution and waste are common occurrences. Moving to a more rural location in which natural farming or modest living is the general way of life may prove to be a more appropriate environment for such ecological living. Or perhaps one would like to encourage a life of driven motivation and a go-getter attitude, then maybe a neighborhood of high achievers is what to seek.

It is important to select one’s living environment just as it is important to choose what to eat, what to study, and how to live. The entourage we choose has an impact on who we become and so the more we become aware of its direct and indirect messages and act upon them accordingly the more we can use our surroundings to our advantage.