Have you ever veered from the norm?
Scary?
Liberating?
Frightening?
Relief?
Okay, What’s a Sheeple?
A sheeple is someone who threatens their own individuality and rights instead to appeal to authority, the ‘norm’, or accepting the beliefs of others as they are percieved as an authority.
Read that again. It’s wordy.
In brief, people are likened to sheep.
And sheep have a tendenacy to follow one another, or their authority. The sheep ‘authority’ figure or threat being a farmer or nippy little collie, that comes down hard on the ‘soon to be wool’ that trots out of line.
Threatening Your Own Individuality
I make a point of saying to my clients, (even though it may be seen as odd) do not believe anything I say, be skeptical, ask questions, find your own truth, especially when it comes to making decisions about your life.
Why do I say this?
Simple.
Anyone who’s in front of a group, standing next to flipchart, projector, doing the presenting, leading, facilitating is pretty much seen as the ‘authority’, comes with the job — we’re ‘taught’ that behaviour attending school.
Not true. It’s all a perception.
I certainly don’t want anyone to accept what I believe at face value, just to appeal. I want them to remain individuals in a group situation (tough, but do-able.) My role is to help them achieve their goals, and hold the belief that it’s possible.
The need to appeal, conform, obey and ‘fit in’ isn’t new. Remember we’re from tribal roots, our ancestors knew this, they survived by ‘fitting in’, not rocking any boots, or by being a threat to the tribe.
You only need to read the experiments that prove how far we will go so as not to upset the authority. Try Milgrams Obedience Experiment (that’s the one where subjects administered electrical shocks to learners!) for starters.
Is There a Price to Pay?
It takes guts to stand up and ‘leave the groupthink’, to walk away from the expectations of others or question the ‘authority’.
And it comes with a risk. On the one hand you may be hailed a hero or you may be ridiculed.
To be the person on the other side of the fence you may run the risk of people commenting, poking fun, taunting and teasing you.
Is it worth it?
Only you can decide.
Only you will know the consequences of stepping away from the norm and becoming your own authority. You can choose to go with the crowd, you can choose to appeal, you can choose to put the beliefs of others as a higher priority than you’re own and what you believe. Or not.
How to Find Your Own Truth
I’d suggest, question everything, go back to asking ‘but why?’
Who are your ‘authorities’?
Are you still being led by people from your past? Do you stop yourself from carrying out a task or project and think ‘oh what would they think if I did that?’. Do you keep information to yourself, not revealing all the details because you know ‘they’ won’t approve?
Are you not living your life on your terms because of the rules laid down by authority figures when you were, 5, 10, 15 years old?
A few years ago a client I was working shared with me she was sad her parents had passed away, and in some way relieved that she can now start living her life, her way! She was 48. They always judged her decisions.
Did you get taught it was the ‘norm’ to stick with a job you hated?
Were you taught to ‘blend’ in, and not stand out. Were you made to certain items of clothing, did you have to take up ‘hobbies’ and behave in certain ways around certain people.
Was it the norm to hold onto your opinions, ideas and feelings because ‘you had to be seen and not heard’?
Were you taught who were the authority figures you had to obey? Parents, Carers, Teachers, GP’s, religious leaders, anyone with a few letters after their name?
Perhaps you grew up thinking that the TV was the authority, that everything coming at you in pixels was the truth.
Were you encouraged to be your own authority? Were you parents the worst authorities?
Final Thoughts…
I conform, I obey, I groupthink, so am I being a hypocrite?
I follow the rules of the land where I live (authority – police, laws, government). Although I would consider myself to ‘free’ in my thinking, am I?
Are you? Can we truly be free? In one shape or form will we always have to be sheep somewhere?
Do I have the right to ask people to ‘question’? At what point do we give up asking ‘but why?’ and go along with herd.
What do you think? Should we/can we be our own authorities?
PS: Here’s a few quotes :-)
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. ~Dr. Seuss
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Before you can break out of prison, you must first realize you’re locked up.
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