Dear Herd,
When was the last time you did something because everyone else was doing it?
And you didn’t know why. You just did it.
Maybe it was something small – standing up when the bell rang in the waiting room. Maybe it was something bigger, like saying you’re “fine” when you’re anything but. Maybe it was buying that thing you didn’t need, or nodding along to an opinion you don’t really agree with.
But you did it. You followed the group, without even thinking about it. Because that’s what we do.
We like to think we make decisions, that we choose our actions based on reason. But much of our behavior is shaped by something far more primal: the herd. We’re programmed to fit in, to move as one, to think as one. It’s how we survived when the world was a much more dangerous place. Alone, we were vulnerable. Together, we thrived.
You see it every day, in every corner of society. On social media. In politics. In our friendships. Even at work. We all have a natural drive to blend in, to be accepted, to avoid standing out. We do things we don’t even understand, simply because that’s what the people around us are doing.
So we ask you:
When’s the last time you did something because everyone else was doing it, and you didn’t know why?
Did it feel better to go along with the crowd? Did it feel worse to stand out? What does that tell you about how much of your “decisions” are really your own?
If you want a taste of free will, it might be found in who you choose to be around. The herd is a force, yes, but it doesn’t always have to define you. In fact, the more aware you are of how much influence the herd has over your behavior, the more you can decide to build a tribe of your own making. A group that sharpens you rather than shapes you.
From the edges of the herd,
~ The Radical Left