Life is akin to a play sometimes.

We don different masks and assume different roles to suit the occasion, like a chameleon blending in with its surroundings. We deliver our lines as from the script, portraying emotions we don’t really feel and hiding our true feelings.

Why do we feel the need to change as how the situation dictates? Why do we pretend?

Maybe it’s because in our cutthroat world of today, we grow up realizing the importance of not letting people see our vulnerability, our weaknesses. We understand, and more importantly, live and breathe the very essence of the rule: the weak fall prey to the strong.

We’ve been told almost all our lives that the world out there is a big bad one, where people whom you thought were your friends wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of you for the sake of clinching that promotion, for the sake of climbing up one rung on the corporate ladder. A world where bosses are tyrants that wouldn’t hesitate to run you ragged and where the competition to move higher up in the world is fierce and ruthless.

They tell us, learn the ways of the world, learn to adapt and act as how you have to. Learn what other people are all about and how to push their right buttons. Learn to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Basically, learn what you have to do to succeed.

So we learn. And we learn that one size doesn’t always fit all, change is good, being flexible is good. A superior who thinks that your strong achievement drive will take you far has some of your colleagues resenting your success. He might like your compassionate side, but she, on the other hand, thinks that just because you’re soft, you’re someone that’s easily bullied.

In a time where impressions count for everything, it’s terribly easy to get off on the wrong footing and get confused very, very quickly, possibly jeopardizing your future if you don’t know the rules of the game.

Thus, we change ourselves to suit the time, place and people. But for what? Well, there is success, of course, but at what price? Doesn’t it drain you to have to switch personalities at the blink of an eye and not being able to trust everything you see at face value? Having to second guess his or her motives and constantly being alert, sharp for any break in our opponent’s mask so we can gain the upper hand?

We don’t really realise that with all these ‘nifty’ tricks and games we play, we create a noose around our own necks, and that tightens with every passing day. We are slowly restricting ourselves and the lives of our future generation with the never-ending rules that trap us. In short, we have a recipe for disaster here and the future of our world is looking very bleak at this moment in time.

I guess what I’m trying to express here is that if this lifestyle suits you then go all out for it and become the best that you can be. However, if you are disturbed by all this playacting and tip-toeing around, then all I have to say is, forget the rigid rules of society, forget people you care nothing for, forget the overflowing ‘in’ tray on your desk, we only live once and what’s life without its risks? It’s a gamble, sure, but it might pay off someday. The real question at heart is do we have the guts to do it?