Herd mentality - The bitter truth of being mentally lazy

Herd mentality - The bitter truth of being mentally lazy 

”Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd.” Bertrand Russell 

Life always gives us two choices for direction in life; whether to go along with the majority of society without thinking for ourselves or choose to break free of conditioning and are guided by our wisdom. It is not easier to take decision and responsibility for the quality of our lives. Many people go through their day feeling dissatisfied or like something is missing in their lives. We have been programmed by the people around us in such a way, that we have lost touch with our true selves. Most of the times we fear what if we ever truly said what was on our mind, would we be ridiculed or rejected? Often those who are bullied or insulted are the ones who don’t fit into the general societal mold. 

The fear of missing out is so deeply engrained in the minds of people that today critical thinking is frowned upon. The rise of collective mind and cattle mentality has influenced people to adopt certain behaviors, political views, violent behaviors on a largely emotional, rather than rational basis. This is popularly known as Herd Mentality or Mob Mentality. The term has been derived from the natural instinct of a number of sheep walking together in a herd so as to avoid falling into the pitfalls of danger. 

If you look around, our daily actions are based on this little psychological term. If we break down the context of “Herd Mentality” to its core, we would find out that the concept is more related to “how do the natural instincts work for humans”. For example, every one joins the most famous coaching centre overlooking factors like personal attention, location disadvantage, and stress factors which can work against you. Parents usually find comfort in the aspect that they have enrolled their child in the best coaching centre which is supposedly to be the best decision for their child. 

A very famous line by Benjamin Franklin “If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking” fits perfectly to this situation. We are stuck in the same pattern of looking at things or doing things that are easily accepted and happening around us. We lose the power of thinking despite knowing that it’s not the right choice. 

Most of the people like to be accepted by a group, rather than being an outcast. Following what the others are doing is a natural way of being accepted by that group. This way one easily avoids social pressure. In general, people believe that the larger the group of people involved in any decision, the lesser is the chance of the decision being incorrect. There is an irrational belief that a large number of people cannot be wrong in their decision making process. 

Playing safe does not help us to grow as a person, if you see everywhere there is a competition wherever you go, you need to be different and unique to be followed. You may look stupid to all those who are already a part of herds or wannabes, and may not accepted by them if you try to do things differently. Newspapers, radio, television and the Internet including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram etc. play a major role in creating mob mentality. They align the views of the ‘pack’ to bias political outlook. The media can reinforce hidden attitudes and “activate” them, promoting people to take action based on the mass media narrative. Such groups are gaining more and more power due to easy access to information aligned with one’s political affiliation, hence forming a strong connection to the pack and affirming these attitudes and opinions on them. 

Herd mentality, mob mentality and pack mentality, also known as gang mentality is on the rise. This results in stagnation, and no one wants to be stagnant. In addition to this, herd mentality also has other negative consequences; difficulty eating, poor sleep and increased alcohol consumption. Many people may not realize they’re gravitating towards powerfully negative and bias views which can in turn harm their mental health. 

A creative, curious, and adventurous mind can never have a herd mentality; they are always up to doing something different and thinking out of the box. You will be recognized if you act and think differently and having a unique style of thinking is most of the time a boon for an individual. It gives your self-esteem a boost once you know you are not a “just regular person”. You must always strive to be unique and acknowledge any biases you may have. Be aware of what’s going around and take time to consider your options. Try developing you own opinion and don’t justify yourself for the choices made.