Many life-coaches tell you that you have to become a leader, that you shouldn’t follow anyone. But we are all followers, not only on Twitter. We all have some people or idea’s that we admire. Whom or what you follow, can have a broad range. It goes from following leaders like Michelle Obama or Mahatma Gandhi, to following what your friends do or expect you to do. From following hypes and fashion to your following own intuition or following a religious belief. What do you follow? Why does it appeal to you?
I like to follow the idea of freedom-for-all, and people who fight for it like Sophie Scholl, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi.
Some scientists say that your brain is like a sponge. A big part of our personality is formed by the 5 people we spent most of our time with. You can probably extend the idea to the books we read, the comments on social media we read, the films or series we watch.
I’ve discovered that lately, that in stressful situations I tend to watch a lot of detective series on TV, even crappy ones! It’s entertaining, but it has no link at all to the ideas and to the people I would like to follow. I’ve decided to limit my TV consumption and to look for good books to read instead. The library has a lot to offer.
Do you remember the scene in the film “The Life of Brian”, where Brian preaches to a huge amount of followers?
“You are all individuals”, he tells them.
“We are all individuals”, the audience replies all at once.
“I’m not”, one individual says.
Don’t follow me! Though you might want to think about what and with whom you spent your time with. Do your activities support the idea or people you like to follow?