"Consensus is what many people say in chorus but do not believe." - Abba Eban
The majority of our beliefs aren't actually our OWN beliefs. They're other peoples beliefs. Don't worry it's not our fault it's just the way we're programmed. It stems from the natural instincts of our ancient brain which is wired to obsessive levels to keep us alive. We used to have to adapt not only to the physical environment but also the social environment or die. As a result of this, we become a product of our environment. Unfortunately, we still do this today. We have a herd mentality which drives us to go along with the crowd.
As always I'm talking from experience. When you were little, did you ever ask your parents for something that you thought you desperately needed? You'd literally beg them & promised to do anything for it. It might have been the IN trainers, or the new IN video game or whatever other latest trend there was. Looking back was your only reason for wanting that thing because "your mates had one"?
Did your parents also ever respond by asking you "If your mate jumped off of a cliff would you do that as well?" In my desperation to acquire said thing, I remember replying yes to that question on multiple occasions. When you're young & dumb you just blindly follow the crowd. This is essentially what we do with our beliefs. We unconsciously adopt them from friends, family or social media without ever questioning their validity. The only reason we do this is to be part of the tribe or conversation to feel accepted.
If you're happy living in the ignorance of your herd's mentality then that's fine. Ignorance is bliss. However, you will never fulfil or surpass your potential as a human being by doing this. No one ever achieved anything great by being part of the crowd like everyone else. All you will achieve is mediocrity & even that will be difficult because that's where you will find the most competition.
WHY WE ADOPT THE GENERAL CONSENSUS
"A long time ago a bunch of people reached a general consensus as to what's real & what's not & most of us have been going along with it ever since." - Charles de Lint
Our brains still haven't evolved from a time when in social situations it was natural to conform to your tribe's ways. We did this to avoid getting banished to the wilderness. If they did a silly rain dance when there was a drought, you did too. If they believed that penguins were sacred & prayed to a penguin shrine every 2 hours, you did too. If they believed eating goat poo cured all diseases, you did too. You would have had no choice as banishment in hunter-gatherer times was fatal. Surviving nature & the elements required a community. You needed people to hunt, forage, build shelters, collect wood, tell jokes to keep morale high in times of starvation. I'm not actually sure if that last one is true, I just think every tribe or group needs a funny person to lighten the mood. Especially in those times which were arduous. Luckily for us, we live in a completely different world now. A world that has been adapted to suit our basic survival needs.
We DON'T NEED a tribe to survive these days.
We DON'T NEED to fit in & blindly adopt traditions now for fear of being outlawed.
We DON'T NEED to think like everyone else & we DON'T NEED to operate like them either.
We CAN be authentic & speak with our own voice.
We CAN chase our individual goals whether other people approve or not.
We CAN be different if we choose to be.
To do this we will need to override our natural instinct to conform & adopt the ideals & habits of our own personal tribe. It's not an easy habit to master though. You will be viewed as a freak or weirdo, at first. Your uncommon decisions will be questioned by your immediate circle. People don't like different. People don't like their beliefs or opinions challenged, it makes them feel uncomfortable. Not because they fear change but more because they fear being changed. Changing yourself is hard work & the majority hate hard work.
Can you imagine living in the 1950s & spending years working on your cool smoking habit thinking it was good for you? Only to later find out that it actually gives you cancer. Then having to try & give up this highly addictive substance before you die of an easily preventable disease. Smoking being good for you was the general consensus in those times. The world being flat was also another idea that was widely believed at some point in time. My point is you can't trust the dominant beliefs that everyone in society holds. Those beliefs have turned out to be wrong in the past & a lot of beliefs we hold now will turn out to be wrong in the future. You can either wait for society to collectively go through the very slow process of figuring out what's nonsense & what's true. Or start challenging your beliefs now.
When I started following a predominantly vegan diet, my tribe of carnivore friends & family members couldn't comprehend why I'd reduce my meat consumption. It went against the general consensus that meat = protein & makes you big & strong. Plants = gross green stuff that makes you weak & feeble. Fast forward 3 years & the latest Vegan propaganda documentary that's trending called "Game changers" has made various people in my friendship circle start questioning their consumption. Society does catch up eventually, but by challenging the general consensus at every opportunity you can get ahead of the pack. I'm not saying a vegan diet is the right answer, I just believe eating meat every single day isn't necessary.
HAVE CONFIDENCE IN NONSENSE
"Whenever there's ever a breakthrough, a true breakthrough, you can go back & find a time period when the consensus was- Well that's nonsense!" - Burt Rutan
If like me, you're looking to make a serious impact on society, you must learn to start having confidence in nonsense. I firmly believe that we could all maximise our potential if we adopted a lawless mentality & everyone thinks I'm just talking nonsense. I have full confidence in this belief though & there's no doubt in my mind that one day the rest of society will too. I challenge you to start challenging common conceptions you hold & see what nonsense you can start having confidence in.