--- title: How Breaking the Rules Can Help You Succeed in Life description: In the latest Do It Scared podcast, Ruth Soukup explores how breaking the rules can help make you more successful in your career and life. canonical: https://time.com/5330961/break-the-rules-advance-career/ author: Ruth Soukup article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-11T18:18:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:58:03.447Z og:title: How Breaking the Rules Can Help You Succeed in Life and Advance Your Career og:description: Sometimes being a rebel is good og:url: https://time.com/5330961/break-the-rules-advance-career/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19b5718e113b57d6/698934ad0a4a2266f59d31e5/you-should-break-rules.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Why You Should Break the Rules og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Breaking the Rules Can Help You Succeed in Life and Advance Your Career twitter:description: Sometimes being a rebel is good twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19b5718e113b57d6/698934ad0a4a2266f59d31e5/you-should-break-rules.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Breaking the Rules Can Help You Succeed in Life and Advance Your Career by [Ruth Soukup](https://time.com/author/ruth-soukup/) ## Ruth Soukup Jul 11, 2018 6:18 PM UTC  You shouldn't be afraid to break the rules sometimes. You shouldn't be afraid to break the rules sometimes.Westend61—Getty Images/Westend61 by [Ruth Soukup](https://time.com/author/ruth-soukup/) ## Ruth Soukup Jul 11, 2018 6:18 PM UTC From the earliest age, we’re taught to [follow the rules](http://time.com/3896337/how-to-explain-the-point-of-manners-to-modern-kids/). Look both ways before crossing the street. Don’t talk to strangers. Color inside the lines. Wait your turn. Say please and thank you. Raise your hand to speak. Don’t talk with your mouth full. The list goes on and on. But all those rules don’t stop once we get older. In fact, most of the time, we all operate within a set of established norms, or unwritten rules. We talk a certain way, dress a certain way and always try to follow instructions. We [don’t dare rock the boat](http://time.com/collection-post/4028474/would-you-rather-take-a-risk-or-be-guaranteed-stability/). We pay attention to what everyone else is doing, and try to keep our own behavior in line. Whether it’s at work, school or home, most of us — whether we want to admit it or not — are [rule followers](http://time.com/5325060/stop-negative-voice-inside-head/). But who’s making those rules? And, are following all of these social norms actually helping us? I’ve learned that following someone else’s way of doing things hasn’t always been the best path forward. Sometimes, following the rules holds us back from [realizing our dreams and taking chances](http://time.com/5317222/setting-ambitious-goals/). Yes, it’s a little scary to be a rebel, but sometimes it’s necessary if we want to [advance in our careers](http://time.com/4752677/6-ways-advance-career/) or lives. So how do you ignore conventional wisdom and silence that voice in the back of your head that tells you not to rock the boat? How do you find the courage to question authority and forge your own path? That’s exactly the topic that I discuss in this episode of the [Do It Scared](https://doitscared.com/) podcast. Hopefully, my tips will help you feel confident enough to step outside the box. Because I promise you, that’s where most of the good stuff happens. _Ruth Soukup is a_ [_New York Times bestselling author_](https://ruthsoukup.com/about/) _and the founder of_ [_Living Well Spending Less_](https://www.livingwellspendingless.com/)_. You can listen to her sage advice on life, career and parenting on episodes of her new podcast,_ [_Do It Scared_](https://doitscared.com/)_, above._ How Breaking the Rules Can Help You Succeed in Life ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5330961/break-the-rules-advance-career/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5330961/break-the-rules-advance-career/"},"headline":"How Breaking the Rules Can Help You Succeed in Life and Advance Your Career","datePublished":"2018-07-11T18:18:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:58:03.447Z","description":"Sometimes being a rebel is good","url":"https://time.com/5330961/break-the-rules-advance-career/","keywords":["Living","advice","Career & Workplace","motto","Evergreen"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19b5718e113b57d6/698934ad0a4a2266f59d31e5/you-should-break-rules.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ruth Soukup","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ruth-soukup/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19b5718e113b57d6/698934ad0a4a2266f59d31e5/you-should-break-rules.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Why You Should Break the Rules","caption":"Pencil with knot amid straight pencils","creditText":"Westend61—Getty Images/Westend61","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5330961/break-the-rules-advance-career/","name":"How Breaking the Rules Can Help You Succeed in Life and Advance Your Career"}}]}] ```