In today’s post, I’d like to point out why it is so difficult to think differently from the mass.
I was inspired by this post after watching a political series during the week. Basically, in that episode, I saw a cabinet whose opinion was totally different from their leader.
However, when a previous member tried to speak up his mind, he was purely and simply fired by the leader. That had set a fearful workplace environment, into which the other cabinet members feared to express their opinions – especially if they were different from that of the leader.
An experience of mine…
After watching that series, I thought of my years in cram school: how intense the pressure was, how helpless I felt because of my poor grades, how much doubts I went through, etc.
Because of my poor grades and the pressure, I was striving to make myself invisible to my classmates and to my professors.
However, it didn’t always work out. In fact, I specifically remember of this one scene where our Math professor had asked us a question. We all had to answer vocally, all at the same time.
Every one gave an identical answer. Everyone, except me! In fact, I was hoping my voice had been low enough so my different response wouldn’t be noticed. Unfortunately for me, our professor had noticed my different answer.
So he specifically called me, picked on my different answer and noticed how embarrassed I was to be standing out of the rest. In a severe tone, he challenged me to repeat my answer. I could kiss goodbye my desire for invisibility haha.
Years later…
Years later, I still remember that moment and the embarrassment I felt. I felt so embarrassed for several reasons:
- Fear of loneliness
- Fear of being rejected
- Fear to be considered as even more stupid
- Fear of failure
And these feelings can be emotionally disturbing or even painful because most of the time, human beings are in constant seeking of approval and recognition from their peers. They want to be conform with the rest.
In fact, some research has proven that there is activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula, which are areas of the brain associated with actual physical pain, as a result of feeling lonely among your peers.
Thinking differently than your peers exposes you to the risk of being labelled as nonconforming. This can be cause for lots of things, such as:
- Lack of self esteem
- Lack of self confidence
- Desire to follow the majority
- Desire to follow the common dogmas
- Fear of the unknown
This avails even more in our professional lives: though I wasn’t agreeing with my employers and co-workers, I would be scared of doing differently than them. I would be afraid of giving an answer different to that of my classmates.
And in business: one would be afraid of doing differently in comparison to their peers and/or competitors… One would be scared of thinking differently because they are afraid to lose their customers, etc.
Yet, the truth is…
Yet, history has already proved it: those who dared thinking differently from the mass are the successful ones… Einstein, Galilee, Edison, Rosa Parks, etc.
In my opinion, the best way to minimize the desire to follow the mass is to retrieve your freedom of thinking. Question, seek understanding, test, fail, try again, until you are convinced of what is right for you.
Are they any areas of your life where you think differently, but feel obliged to follow the mass? In your opinion, why is it so difficult to think differently? How do you cope with that? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments’ section.
By the way: speaking of that specific experience I shared earlier on, my answer was right – and all my other classmates had a wrong response. That is why our professor specifically challenged me to repeat my answer.
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