Many people accept without questioning the system of values they inherit. Study, get a job, earn money, gain status, consume, seek recognition, entertain yourself, and repeat. Not because they have examined that model and decided it is the life they want, but because it is the path they know and because most of the people around them follow exactly the same one. When something goes wrong, frustration and complaints appear, but the system itself is rarely questioned. The goal is simply to fix the problem so they can return to the same path as quickly as possible.

The problem is not participating in that system. The problem is doing so without ever deciding whether we actually want to be part of it. We can enjoy a career, money, sport, consumption, or recognition and do so consciously. We can also discover that some of these things do not interest us very much. The important question is how much of our lives we have actually chosen and how much we have simply accepted because it was what we were supposed to do. Perhaps a freer life does not mean abandoning the system, but stopping the confusion between what society considers valuable and what actually has value to us.