Conforming to anti- conformity?

   Yesterday I read a very convicting post, and while not all the illustrations apply to me, the core of the post hit me between the eyes.
   I am a people pleaser, and not just any people pleaser I am an opinionated people pleaser. Course, thing is, my opinions are geared toward pleasing people. (oxymoron? I think, yes.) I decide not to conform to the world and in doing so attempt to conform myself to a different group of people, albeit more Christ-like. Now, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with doing things the same as other people (anti-conformity for any other reason that following Christ is just as wrong), because if we are all following Christ's lead, there may very well be some aspects of our lives that look like someone else's. I am saying, however, that when we begin following others instead of Christ, we will just be conforming in a different way.
   I love to read, and I love to learn about how to be a Christian. Mix these two loves together and you will know why my Christian Living books are knocking other books off my shelf. Now, I think that it is very important to fill your mind with edifying literature, but in my case, I have been taking the opinions of others at face value, making them my opinions, instead of letting God's word guide my convictions as I discussed in a previous post. As, true as something may be, I am robbing myself of a strong and sound faith. I will be more prone to be 'tossed... about by every wind of doctrine', instead of being 'firmly planted' as God has called me to be.
   Is there any place in your life where you are conforming to someone else's standard? (and again don't freak out if someone else holds some of the same views and convictions as you, that is to be expected) I know that I'm not the only one who struggles with this. If you are, what are some ways that you can get back to Christ? For me, this means laying aside all of my Christian Living books for then next week or so, but it may look different for you. Do you have any beliefs that you are not convinced about? Let's take the next few days and together search our lives. Lets pray that God will 'try our reins' and 'search our hearts'. If you want to I would love to hear what you have discovered. (and if you have trouble commenting, try commenting under 'anonymous' and then leaving your name so I will know who you are) And don't forget to pray for me, as I hammer out my own faith and attempt to conform to the person of Christ instead of someone else's pattern.