“A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd”

Max Lucado

What does it take to go against the crowd, to be your own person and follow your own path and ambition ?

Faith? Courage? Stubbornness? 

Perhaps it is a combination of all of the above.

As humans, social groups or tribes fulfil one of our most basic psychological needs to ensure survival; a sense of belonging. In some of these groups we may have very strong bonds with other members such as in our families, our friends and peer groups. Whereas in others may be in areas where we have a specific interest such as a hobby, or a philosophical view of how we live our life. Sometimes however these groups constitute what may be what is considered ‘normal’ by society. 

We may value and listen to what is consensus and conventional thinking, and live our lives according to what is considered ‘normal’ within these established groups.

So when someone acts to challenge the status quo, for example to ask different questions, they may  potentially risk exclusion from a group. This is because a differing point of view can bring up feelings of fear, loss, and a sense of being alone.

But what if being clear on who we really are, what we stand for, and how we want to live our lives, involved challenging the beliefs, ideas and behaviours of our current tribe? 

What if  being part of this tribe was holding us back from being who we could be and living to our highest potential?

“Nothing changes if nothing changes”  anon 

If we are to truly live life on our terms, and be all that we can be, at some point we will need to get clear on who we are, and what we stand for. And in doing so, we may have to question whether what everyone else is doing, is right for us.

This may be met with a lot of resistance within us, and potentially by one or more groups we belong to. They may be challenged by your actions because it is questioning their beliefs also.

Will this take courage? Yes

Will it be uncomfortable ? Yes

But what we stand to gain in taking such action is being the conductor of our own lives. This means living in harmony with our true authentic self. Once we find that in ourselves, we are then able to attract new groups and tribes that can support us based on who we really are, and what we believe is possible in life.

The question is...... will you do it ?

Blog written by Jim Karagiannis