America, the land of the free and the brave, the place where everyone has their own opinions and beliefs… or so they think. If you dig deep, there are many things in our society that most people believe, but might not be the norm anywhere else in the world. These can be topics as simple as chewing with your mouth closed or complex ideas like money and success. Some of these misconceptions can be harmful to who we are as people, yet we still follow them blindly. I have taken it upon myself to dive into three of these common misconceptions.
- Your position in life is due to your hard work.
“Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” is a common term thrown around when someone is down on their luck. It means that you should be able to get up even though it is challenging. The problem lies in the quote itself, as pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is impossible. You simply cannot lift your entire body off the ground by pulling on your shoes, no matter how hard you try. This misconception leads people to feel that anything they do in life is purely due to their efforts. They believe that they need to try harder and think that is the only solution.
Many of you reading this right now may agree with that notion. Saying yes, people just need to work harder. You believe that if you aren’t where you want to be in life it is because you don’t want it enough. That is not true though. There are many circumstances where the place you are now is not due to your actions but because of the life you had. For example, a really rich kid who becomes the next successful CEO may be in that position because of the dynasty their parents passed on. Looking at the flip side, a student who is working their tail off at Mcdonald’s, providing for their siblings is also there because of the dynasty their parents built for them. Neither of them worked for their circumstances, yet there they are. Sometimes your position cannot be helped. That is why we have to be mindful of not always blaming the person for the predicament they are in.
- Money means success and happiness.
Money, money, money. That is the thing that drives Americans, who can never have enough. They think that busting their butt to buy the latest Gucci bag will make them appear rich. Luckily for them, this trick works because people associate money with success. When you buy expensive things, the usual assumption is that you are rich. When people see that you have money they assume you are successful and therefore happy. There are many things wrong with this line of thinking. The first is just because you buy nice things does not mean you are wealthy. There are many times people will waste an entire paycheck on an outfit just to appear put together. The second problem is that even though you have money, it does not mean you are happy. You could be a rich lawyer, working 100+ hours a week, never sleeping or seeing your family. Yes, you have money, but you are not happy. Just appearing rich does not make your life fruitful.
When thinking of the future in America, people fantasize about the day that they can finally retire and relax. They dream of a time when money is no longer a problem because they believe that is what will make them happy. By the time these folks get old, they look back at their life and feel that they wasted it. They warn the youth to do what they want when they are young, and not to worry about money. Yet we never learn from them. Maybe it has to do with the industry America was built on that utilizes the poor and overworked to keep the rich where they are. If we continue to instill this idea in society, then it will never change and the majority of people will continue working until they drop.
- To look younger is to look more desirable.
The multi-billion dollar industry known as cosmetics is growing day by day. People will spend hundreds trying to find the next item that keeps them young. America has made aging such a horrendous process to go through. The elderly care offered is expensive and mediocre at best. People will do whatever they have to to avoid the fate of being sent to those places. They feel if they can look younger, the reality of their age will not catch up with them.
There is also the aspect of being attractive to others. Many people (women especially) will get surgeries or the next fad pill to try and stay slim and wrinkle-free. Cosmetic companies know this and will prey on the insecurities of these people. They will continue to exploit them by coming up with new things that are wrong with the natural body as a way to make a buck. It is a horrible cycle that leads to depression and self-hate. We as a society feed into the problem, rarely questioning it, but the reality is that looking younger does not make someone more attractive to everyone.
At the end of the day, as much as we want it to not be true, we do have a lot of commonalities with each other. Taking a look at these misconceptions can help change them for the better. These false beliefs keep us in a state of dejection thinking that we are not doing enough to be the best that we can be. In reality, you determine what makes you happy. As long as you are enjoying life, not stressing or sad, you are successful. Your life does not have to fit the box that other people put you in. Reject these misconceptions and build a better life for yourself.
Josh Steen 
Lenora Kirkland