There’s nothing remarkable about a purple cow. If I see one, I’ll probably find someone in the vicinity with a bucket of purple dye.
When I know that the difference is manufactured, the sense of wonder is gone.
My biggest sense of wonder often comes from people who seem ordinary on the surface but aren’t afraid to stand out through their actions. They doing things most people would never expect or do themselves. They have the courage to be themselves and to pursue their unachieved dreams with vigor. They’re broken away from the herd.
They fight herd mentality.
Herd mentality describes how people are influenced by peers to adopt certain behaviors, follow trends, and/or purchase items. Herd mentality drives stock market trends, fashions in apparel, cars, taste in music, home décor and making your own life choices based on the choices that others have made. Herd mentality helps us determine what we like based on what’s popular around us. According to researchers at the University of Leeds, though, it only takes five percent of a herd to determine its direction. Everyone else is along for the ride.
It’s High School dynamics.
Herd breakers don’t subscribe to this way of thinking. They don’t judge their own success based on the achievements of others. They’re not crippled by comparisons with others.
Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Herd breakers aren’t concerned about being ‘better’ or being ‘best’. When we do this, our vision narrows on all sides and waves of ordinary closes in around us.. We’re ahead of some. behind others. Penned in on each side. The view from our position is the herd doesn’t change.
When most have little hope of seeing the open range every herd breaker is extraordinary.
Cows with Guns
Credits: Photo of the Lollipop Munchkin Cow, by artist Mike Dowdell. This cow was one (of my favorites) from many included in Madison’s 2006 Cows on Parade fundraiser for American Family Children’s Hospital. I really wanted to buy one of these cows. My wife? Not so much.
This post is #23 (out of order) in a series for #Trust30, a 30-day writing challenge that encourages participants to look within and trust themselves. It’s an opportunity to reflect on ‘now’, and to create direction for the ‘future’. Prompts from inspiring thought-leaders guide participants on the writing journey.
About Troy Janisch