I don't think there's a right or wrong way to go about it. Only that it is a choice to be made with the recognition that, "yes, I'm following that script because it works for me and I think it will make me happy". 

I also think it inevitably becomes a mind prison when everyone else is doing the same thing.

Yes, it's isolating and lonely when you veer off but it's also liberating. It may seem like a sacrifice but that greatly depends on what's important to the individual.