Going it Alone
You Might Not Get There
On January 10, 2024, Caroline Phipps and Rick Schneider discussed the downsides of leading
a life focused on personal projects and individualism, even when living alone.
In hindsight, 2023 was a year of revelation. Despite predictions of a return to post-pandemic normalcy, issues such as loneliness, miscommunication, and conflict dominated. With significant global challenges like climate change, polarization, and pandemic fallout requiring collaboration and cooperation to solve, why do so many still choose to go it alone?
This "I did it my way" approach to life has its roots in the potent mythology of rugged individualism, which values self-reliance above all else. In the past, this mindset led to forceful actions like conquering and pioneering to impose our will on others and nature. Today, it manifests in the competitive drive for material gain, power, celebrity, influence, and other markers of exclusivity, which create a sense of separateness and specialness. Many advertisements today, from perfume to vacations, feature glamorous people alone in exotic settings.
You can read this and other articles on Caroline Phipps' website: carolinephipps.com.
