I kinda think that "living life in as much your own way as possible" isn't actually "compromising" or "losing the flame". I think it can actually be an influential form of rebellion if you do it right.

There are always ways to change your life in small ways that improve both your own life and the larger world, right?

For instance, concerned about climate change, environmental pollution, food monoculture? These are problems that are "so big" (large in scale, uncaptured externalities) that they seem to require communal solutions, but there are still things a person can do individually. Cut down on meat consumption, or become vegan altogether. Invest in solar panels or drive less. Whatever, I'm sure you can think of other problems with individual solutions.

The foundation of the modern world of business profits and political corruption is excess consumption, and a lot of ways to individually rebel against that foundation and its extensions boils down to simply choosing to consume less.

Now, not every problem can be solved this way. Healthcare, for example, has a confluence of factors (monopolistic, locally constrained, hidden pricing information, a necessary good) that make choosing alternatives (for example, living with no healthcare) very undesirable or untenable.

But there are still many ways to become more individually independent (not just in your political opinions and mannerisms-- you have to work towards becoming independent of actual resources) from the system you live within and thus passively force change.