Escaping the Herd

I recently completed a Marketing course at UoP.  The teacher asked the class "why did you come back to college?"  Most of us, including myself gave the rudimentary answers: to further my education, have the chance to get a better job, more money, increase my value.  He sat and listened to our reasons.  When we were through, he gave us his reasoning for us returning back to school.  He said, "You're here to escape the herd."  Each of us had a puzzled look on our faces so he continued.  "A college education gives you the tools to become an independent thinker.  Someone that can bring a different perspective to any situation and carve his or her own destiny."

How many times have we allowed ourselves to be carried off by another herd not of our choosing? Feeling helpless, we assume nothing can be done and wait for the ride to be over. This does nothing but built complacency and resentment for ourselves and the situation.  Breaking away from the herd can be tough and many decide its not worth the effort.  Some assume they won't like it and prefer to stay within familiar territory.  Still, there are some that want to test the waters.

Reconnecting with your core values (such as creativity, patience, respect, discovery, etc.) is the first step I've found in escaping the herd.  When we discover and connect with what's important to us, we are less apt to be swayed by decisions from others that don't resonate with us.  We are also more interested in finding solutions that are in alignment with who we are.  It seems like an easy thing to do but its not until we're faced with a situation that challenges our beliefs before we understand its meaning.

Challenging what's true is another way to break away from the herd.  All to often we are ready to believe the worst in others and ourselves.  When we challenge, we can step back and examine what is true and what is fiction.  Many times we connect an assumption with a negative outcome and call it the truth when all it is is an assumption and a negative outcome.

Don't be afraid to voice your opinions for fear you might be wrong.  The only way we can learn is from asking questions - lots of them.  Opening dialogue is the best way engage and learn from others.  When we allow the fear of being wrong to overrule our quest for knowledge and understanding we cheat ourselves of the truth.  What is important is that we allow curiosity to guide our conversation and not fear.  

Escaping the herd means finding freedom - and isn't that what we all want. 

Coach Hellena