Why You Should Not Follow The Majority?

Does the Majority Really matter?

Mark Twain once said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” That’s because, when it comes to high performance, the majority is always wrong.

• When someone tries to do something and fails in it, they do one of two things- either they do it again and again, or they stop doing it.
• Very few numbers of people think of doing that thing differently.
• Those that do it differently are the people who we call “successful people”.

In this article, we are going to share the top reasons for not following the majority.

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Top 4 Reasons Not to Follow The Crowd

1. Most People Are Confused in Thinking

Our brain tries to think as much less than possible because thinking needs very much effort and energy. For over 95% of our life, our brain works on autopilot. That means over 95% of the time, we do things automatically without much thinking. That creates a tunnel vision which makes us confused about our own performances.

As a result, the majority of us think that we are doing great and are different from others. This might not be the same case when they are in reality.

2. You are stick to comfort zones inside your groups

We always tend to think inside the box, and that’s natural. Our thinking is confined within the boundaries of that box. And the boundaries are- legal boundary, technological boundary, physical boundary, and moral boundary.

That’s what the expert says is the limit of our thinking. But in reality, our thinking is more limited. The box of our thinking is smaller than we think it really is. For example, if we ask someone where they want to go for a tour, almost everyone will say the name of places like Cox’s Bazar, Sajek, and Sylhet, etc.

Hardly anyone will say let’s visit a village in Tanore. Visiting a village is neither illegal nor immoral, nor physically or technologically impossible. But no one thinks of it as an option.

This clearly shows that our box of thinking is very small. The same goes for our professional life. When we think of an idea, we think inside a very small box, and the box is called industry norms.

We always think like others within the same industry. That’s the reason we get the results that everyone else gets, and that is a normal result.

We all know the famous quote of Albert Einstein where he said,

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

Albert Einstein

The same saying can be applied here.

It’s foolish of us to do the same thing everyone else is doing and expect a different result. Now the most important question arises, how can we think outside our very small box?

To know the answer, let’s look into the curious case of a London taxi business owner. In order to drive a taxi in London, obviously, you need to know the city thoroughly. But it will take years for a driver to memorize the whole city.

So the owner brought a new category of taxis with the following text written on it, “This driver does not know the city well, but loves to get the directions from you, Is not it?

This is how the passengers got attracted by those who knew the city by heart. Finally, they can be the boss of a taxi. So, the strategy worked well. Now, this can be called thinking outside the box and get out of the comfort zone.  If the owner did what the majority had been doing, this might not have been a success.

3. You have the fear of taking challenges

So if you want to stand out from the crowd, don’t fear. You must accept some unconventional changes in your life. Though, it brings success and the quality of working life. Once you’re accepting new changes and challenges which you have not experienced before might make you exceptional. This is how you will be adaptable to new circumstances.

4. You are less interested in innovation and creativity

This is one of the biggest steps back whenever you follow the crowd or majority. It kills your inner potentials. Being unique and special, every human being has a high ambition or dream in life. If you follow the majority, barely have the chance to achieve your success and dream. Why not put a high emphasis on their own ambition and dream?

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Let’s finish the article with another quote from Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius,

Therefore, we all should remember one thing, sometimes we had to go with the flow rather than knowingly making the wrong choice.

For many of us has direct influence over others which may actually change what we see as the correct decision. The behavior of those people might be different from normal people.

These are enough reasons as to why you should not follow the majority.

References:

• Paul Rulkens, Professional Speaker and Author
• Psychology Today