Recently, we asked ChatGPT this as a provocative question:

The system we collectively created seems to unconsciously suppresses individuality and growth, all in the name of order and stability. Recently, we asked ChatGPT this as a provocative question:

“If you were society and wanted to stop people from chasing their dreams, reaching their full potential, and fulfilling their life purpose, how would you do it?”

The answer hit home. ChatGPT outlined ten tactics, each eerily familiar, exposing how our systems subtly, yet consistently, could condition us to seek safety in sameness, crave validation over inner fulfillment, and fear risk.

How to build a System That Stifles Individual Purpose

1. Make People Question Their Worth from the Start: Define value solely by achievements—degrees, job titles, career paths—so self-worth feels like it’s always tied to external success.
2. Create a Culture of Fear and Doubt: Glamorize perfection, frame setbacks as personal failures, and encourage constant comparisons to breed a deep-rooted fear of risk.
3. Enforce Conformity: Reward sameness, discourage individuality, and silently kill originality, reinforcing that “fitting in” is safest.
4. Restrict Education to Rigidity: Build an education system that favors logic and conformity, dismissing right-brain skills like creativity and emotional intelligence as secondary.
5. Emphasize Materialism: Make material wealth and status markers of success, leaving spiritual growth and self-awareness in the shadows.
6. Promote Competition Over Collaboration: Prioritize a cutthroat environment, where competition stifles community, creating a zero-sum mentality that undermines mutual growth.
7. Institutionalize the Rat Race: Trap people in cycles of accumulation and competition, diverting them from deeper self-discovery and fulfillment.
8. Create Overbearing Work Culture: Push a work-centric life that barely leaves room for self-reflection, self-care, or exploring personal passions.
9. Shape the Narrative Through Media: Saturate media with stories of conformity and fear, narrowing perspectives and perpetuating existing power structures.
10. Suppress Alternative Perspectives: Limit exposure to diverse philosophies or spiritual practices, curbing curiosity and narrowing personal and collective potential.

This list isn’t just theory—it reflects a reality we live every day. A system designed to run smoothly—not to help us come alive. Creating a culture of control and conformity running through our schools, jobs, and daily routines, quietly shaping a world that resists change, stifles growth, and holds us back from becoming who we truly are—or creating the kind of world we actually want to live in.

But what can we do about it?

Perhaps the first step could be simply asking ourselves—especially if we have children—whether we’re nurturing their natural drive for adventure and emotional expression, or if we’re just trying to keep things smooth and safe. This little switch in perspective could already make all the difference. And from there we build…