Be Different

"Go on, lean in. Listen...you hear it? Carpe...hear it? Carpe...carpe diem. Sieze the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."
--John Keating (Dead Poet's Society)

Social pressure pulls behavior like a magnet to the status quo. Be like us. Don't be different.

Why is this so? Being different takes effort. Not just blind imitation of others.

It also requires risk. If the difference results in a mistake, then the herd feels self-righteous. "You were foolish to break from the pack," chastises the status quo.

If the difference results in something good, then the herd looks wrong. "You're making us look bad," warns the status quo.

Being different is a can't win situation, it seems.

Until one realizes that we are not accountable to the status quo. Christ's birth tells us that each of us was put on this earth to make a difference. By definition, improvement and innovation requires breaking from the status quo.

Take a deep breath and be different.