Societal rules or social norms can help us because they let us know what is expected in certain situations. Example: You walk into a library blasting loud music, you are quiet to respect others studying.
But if we get locked into some societal norms they can actually hurt us. Example: Someone very intelligent from a poor family and poor neighborhood may not feel that are worthy to break free from their place in society and go to college. Or a person may feel they need to get married because they are 25, because all of their friends are married at 25