Doing only what everyone else tells you to do is no way to go through life. Instead, it’s important to develop the confidence to embrace your true passions—and pursue them without embarrassment or guilt. Just because society tells you something is cool doesn’t make it so.

Jake Okechukwu Effoduh, a Ph.D. candidate at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, recently went viral on X (formerly Twitter) when he asked everyone for their thoughts on what they’re convinced people only pretend to enjoy. Camping, situationships, trips to Miami, and oysters are just the tip of the iceberg. Scroll down to see what everyone else had to share.

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If we sit down and think hard about our goals and priorities, then we can come up with a list of things that we genuinely enjoy doing. This might mean different things to everyone. Some, for instance, might be passionate about art and writing, while others might want to focus on music and dance. 

Most of us also want to have good, strong relationships with others because we’re social animals. Having an active social life isn’t just pleasant, it’s good for our health. The BBC stresses that loneliness can be just as dangerous as smoking. Leading a lonely life leads to more health problems, and shorter, lower-quality lives. According to health experts, around half of the American population is thought to be affected by this. 

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However, it’s because our social lives are so important that we might be overly worried about our reputations and that others like us. Instead of being 100% authentic and true to ourselves, our aims, and our values, we may adapt our behavior to fit in better. This might mean copying our social group’s interests to leave a positive impression, whether it’s suddenly trying to enjoy camping or some other activity. 

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Here’s the thing, though: it’s perfectly fine to try out new and unexpected activities. Embracing a sense of adventure and surprise, and living curiously, are all wonderful things. However, pursuing specific activities just because you’re scared your friends and acquaintances might judge you otherwise isn’t healthy.

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It’s perfectly fine to say ‘no’ if you’ve tried, say, golf, but it never really clicked. On the flip side, if you did enjoy the activity like your friends do, then that’s wonderful, you’re on the same page. The point is, friendship—true friendship—means setting and enforcing boundaries, and feeling comfortable enough to be honest about what you enjoy and absolutely do not. So you might not like camping—that’s fine, you’ll bond with your pals over hiking or cooking.

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Verywell Mind points out that herd mentality, also known as mob or crowd mentality, can be observed everywhere we go. That’s how fashion trends, investment decisions and political affiliations can spread: people set aside their personal judgments and individuality in exchange for adopting the beliefs of the majority. 

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Folks who are victims of herd mentality tend to conform with the rest of the group, even if they had very different opinions before joining it. They often have a fear of being excluded and may adopt more extreme opinions in order to fit in better. Not only that, members of these social mobs also suppress dissent by stamping out contrary opinions. 

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The best way to fight back against herd mentality is to cultivate more self-awareness. In other words, you have to take an honest look at your beliefs and (dis)likes. Be open with yourself about how much your peers affect how you act. Then, it all comes down to making the decision to be more authentic in the future… or to continue going with the flow.

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It also helps if you become more skeptical of all trends and popular opinions. Try to see through the hype and spot the nuances in situations. The more you develop your critical thinking skills, the more you’ll be able to protect your individuality. And though human beings crave certainty and stability, you can slowly develop your confidence if you start to embrace being uncomfortable going against the crowd. Though you shouldn’t be a contrarian just to stand out!

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So, dear Pandas, which of these tweets (or should we be calling them Xs now thanks to Elon Musk?) did you resonate with the most? What things do personally think aren’t all that enjoyable but folks feel pressure to say they love ‘em? What activities do you genuinely love? Share your thoughts in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

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