Yesterday, I did an experiment on my friends. I have always observed this funny phenomenon in people, so I took it a step further yesterday.
We had just finished for the day and were walking back home, three of us. With me at the front, we kept discussing. Soon, the rather mischievous thought occurred to me to slowly branch out of the normal path and go through a shrubbery one which wasn't even a way. I wanted to see if they would follow me.
I was steps into the shrubs when I looked back; lo and behold, my friends were behind me, away from the normal path. 😂 It was more of an unconscious thing, I was leading the way, so I must definitely be right in all my steps. Wrong.
It was when I began laughing they got what was happening and left for the normal path. We spent next few minutes discussing my little experiment. Let me share some thoughts.
If you find yourself at the front, understand that people will automatically want to follow you and your ideas, so kindly be sensible, and don't misguide. It's not your fault that they are behind you, it's just in the human nature to want a sense of direction, we subconsciously believe that if you're at the front, you must know the way.
If you perceive yourself at the front, and you're about to dive into a pool of crocodiles, it's nice to scream:
"I have some protection!" or "This can only work for me!" or "I have no idea of what I'm doing!"
They are the forefront does not mean they can't go wrong and mislead you. Anyone can get to the front, but not everyone is sensible. Following someone is not tantamount to becoming brainless. If they enter a crocodile pond, it's probably because they have some form of protection or just clueless too.
This is the most important thought. If you're going to follow anyone into the shrubs, make sure you're doing it consciously. Be responsible for your decisions. Don't get to the middle and be surprised of how you got there. Many are so unconscious, they hardly think for themselves, they do things not because they've thought it right or wrong, they just do them because someone- leader, celebrity- that they have placed at the front has declared the road passable.
It takes an extraordinary person to stay alert. It takes an extraordinary person to know when to stay rigid and when to bend. I respect these ones, they don't blend because everyone is.
The path or method used by your elder brother/sister- good or bad- is not automatically your path.
