Breaking certain rules can cause the sky to crack open and rain down awesome benefits – but it can sometimes also cause your worst nightmares. 

If self-empowerment is your goal, there will most likely come a time when it becomes necessary to break a rule, simply to break the control of others or a situation and to set yourself free to make your own rules. 

5 common perks of breaking certain societal rules:

1. The “Work from 9 to 5” Rule:  When you break this rule you can get ahead quickly by creating more time for yourself and potentially working more efficiently. Today, many people benefit from the perks that technology now affords by setting their hours and discovering more quality time for themselves.
2. Always Meet Your Goals and Expectations: The more action you take, the more clarity you uncover. Therefore, it is highly likely that you may change your mind along the way – it’s that simple. It’s possible to become newly enthused about a project or goal when you let the old ones go.
3. What Other People Think is Important: Letting go of the fear of people judging you can be very liberating. What kept you down and from reaching new heights in your life plan is replaced with a new zest for life and enthusiasm to take advantage of every opportunity.
4. Mistakes Are a Bad Thing: You can get tons of benefits from making mistakes, especially if you embrace a growth mindset.  It’s never fun to admit you’re wrong, but when you learn lessons from those mistakes, the benefits are many. Chances are, if it was a bad decision, you’ll learn from it and never make that mistake again.
5. Your Parents Are Always Right: When you realize that your parents lived in another day and time when rules meant something different than they do today, you can easily justify breaking the “parents are always right rule.” The potential benefit you can get from breaking this rule is to free yourself to make your own decisions and plot your life path.

Although there are clear benefits from breaking many of society’s antiquated rules, be careful not to break rules that were set in place to support you and keep you safe. Let’s check out some of the risks associated with breaking the rules.

5 Risks of Rule Breaking

Most of us have suffered the consequences of breaking a rule or just plain ignoring good advice in the past. It may have been a rule your parents made to keep you safe and you learned a good lesson from breaking it. 

There are associated risks to every rule you choose to break. Maybe you are hardwired to go against the grain and you just love to break a rule. Adrenaline rushes from rule-breaking can become addictive to some people.

If you don’t agree with certain rules of society and plan to break them – either in business or your personal life, consider these five risks involved:

1. The risk of alienating people you need or want in your life: Think carefully about breaking a rule that can alienate you from the very people who could benefit you and whom you love. For example, if you go against your parents’ wishes, you may cause them angst. Weigh the benefits and then act accordingly.
2. Lose your job: Some rule-breaking may result in the loss of a job or position in a company. Insisting that you can work from home and get more done may alienate other coworkers who trudge to work each morning. You may also miss out on valuable one-on-one time with your boss or others important to your job.
3. Expressing your opinion All. The. Time. Standing up for your values can be a risk that gives you great satisfaction and can boost your self-esteem. It may also alienate you from a person – or group of people. Beware of the consequences of your words and then do the wise thing.
4. Disqualify you for your current position: You may have gotten a position by promising that you’d be a fast learner and meet all expectations required of you. At some point, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of work or learning process that you didn’t expect. Know what you’re getting into before leaping into a job you’re not qualified for.
5. Not taking yourself seriously. This concept needs balance. When you take yourself very seriously, you run the risk of others perceiving you as pompous and a “know it all.” But, if you don’t find the proper balance between being serious at times that require it and having fun at appropriate times, you may not be seen as the authority figure that you are.

Breaking rules can harm some areas in your life that you may not expect. Evaluate the pros and cons of a rule before you decide to break it and then act in your best interest. This is wisdom.

Be Powerful and Wise

Breaking the rules can empower you because some rules can severely limit your beliefs and hinder your growth and purpose in life, holding you back from expressing deep emotions and from trying new things.

Think about the negative things you secretly tell yourself daily – “My parents or teachers said I couldn’t do that,” “I don’t have the brains to succeed,” “Nobody will want to dance with me.” Each of these negative thoughts is derived from a hidden rule of society that may need to be challenged to discover a more powerful version of yourself. 

If your parents or teachers said you couldn’t do something you’re passionate about, you might need to challenge this. You might need to break the rule and try. If you don’t, you may choose a path of least resistance that will keep you stuck and unhappy most of your life. At a minimum, it could lead to sadness or depression because you never gave it a go.

Final Thoughts:

However, you decide to bend or outright break the rules, let wisdom not rebellion or cockiness guide you. Always, consider how your decisions will affect you, your current and future circumstances, and the people you love the most. 

Always be equally aware of the consequences and rewards of breaking a particular rule. 

The empowerment you gain from taking action will do wonders for your mindset and your confidence. Once you’ve made your final decision, being optimistic about your life and trusting yourself to do the right thing is also important in the empowering process. 

Whether or not, you’ve chosen wisely…only time will tell!

Be well + prosper,

Elaine xx