Don't Be Blinded By The Majority
Stoic Wisdom
Iโm a big fan of translating the teachings and lessons of the great stoics into the modern day. The stoics were widely regarded as having ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ mental fortitude, unshakeable wills, and masters of self-discipline - ๐ผ๐๐ essential characteristics of the High Performer.
Do not gloss over these just because they involve a little more contemplation than an Amazon order. If any of you wonder how I balance all of my outputs - my study of the great philosophers has been instrumental to this.
Todayโs passage is from one of my favourites ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐, from the critically-acclaimed text โ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จโ
โThe object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insaneโ
This resonates with me on several levelsโฆ
Life is, in the present day, horrendously complex. Compare your day to day with that of 2 or 3 generations before us where the primary concerns were working hard, putting food on the table, raising your kids. Jobs and career paths relatively simple and predictable. Infinitely less distraction from material possessions, social media etc.
Now, many earn more per year, in their pants, in their bedroomโฆ than their parents did in their career.
While this age of opportunity has gifted us with so much, it has, for many, stifled them of their opportunity the gift of finding and knowing ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด. Independent thought is an almost alien concept, where many simply follow the status quo.
How many people do you know sharing their opinion on Ukraine Vs Russia?... Despite having ZERO political, cultural or historical background?
How many people voted "Leave" during Brexit?... Despite having ZERO understanding of the complications this would bring for Britain/EU trade engagements?
One of the greatest strengths of humanity, unfortunately, in recent times has become one of our biggest weaknesses. That is the inbuilt need to be one with the tribe. To not be the "outsider". To find safety in numbers. This isn't something anyone should feel guilty about - this is thousands of years of evolution at play that are not simply overridden.
And herein lies our one of our biggest modern day problems - social media, and the blurred lines of who is ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ an authority on a given topic.
Ketogenic diets, which despite over two DECADES of research showing them to be inferior to carbohydrate-dominant alternatives; still remain popular.
Carnivore diets, which despite ZERO evidence to support their efficacy in either health - with in fact, more evidence showing NEGATIVE effects - OR performance; are still being championed by influencers and followed by the critically blind.
How about the "Zoe" diet? Using continuous blood glucose monitors and faecal (poo) samples to prescribe a "bespoke" designer diet to "optimise your microbiome" despite the world leaders in gastrointestinal researchers openly disclosing science being at ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ต a decade away from any kind of such knowledge.
Cases like these have been central to my motivations to create quality, evidence-based content, and is at the core of me setting up this community on Skools.
The irony is that, this inbuilt need for conformity has been known for almost a century...
The classic Asch Conformity Experiment, conducted by psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1950s was designed to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could influence a person to conform. The study involved groups of 7 to 9 participants, but only one was a real participant; the others were all actors (confederates) instructed by the experimenter. Participants were shown a line segment and then asked to choose which of three comparison lines matched the original in length. The correct answer was as obvious as asking which colour is red or blue. 18 trials were conducted, where in the first 2, the actors gave the correct answer, on the 3rd, the actors gave the incorrect answer, and in the remaining 15 trials, the actors gave the incorrect answer in 11 of them.
The Results?
In 35.7% of the total responses, the participants agreed with the actors and gave the WRONG answer and, shockingly, 74% of the participants gave at least ONE wrong answer.
Now imagine if that same study was done today, but the actors were a panel of influencers or social media "experts"...
And the unfortunate reality is that due to nature of how we now dominantly communicate online - free from faces, tone or body language - this "tribe" mentality has been lost by many; their kinship replaced with a need to "outcompete" others, even to their detriment. Sadly, many people don't WANT you to succeed; a classic example is the disdainful drinking culture we have in the UK, where if you so much as whisper the suggestion of not getting paralytic drunk because you're prioritising your career, health, or simply don't enjoy being a fucking neanderthal that wastes their monthly revenue on a taxable toxin; ๐๐๐ (?) are somehow, the pariah.
As I have said to numerous clients over the years, when challenged in such a way by 'friends', ask them "is my company not enough?". If the response is anything to the contrary - leave and bin.
Key Lessons
1) Think Critically - who is it that is presenting you with information? Why should you trust them? How can you know that it is sound advice?
2) Seek Clarity - what is it that YOU want from life? Once you know this, you can filter and guard your interactions from those that try and derail you.
3) Success Is/Can Be Lonely - don't expect people to celebrate when you're doing the work that they're not prepared to do, or when they're not getting a piece of it. If the people you're surrounded by aren't supportive in your pursuits - find new people.