Setting & Achieving Goals Using Broader Perspective Wisdom

Answering A Growth Seeker’s Questions About Productivity

My mentor Dr. Wayne Dyer often said, “Habits rule the unreflecting herds.”

What he meant by this is that humans follow leaders, much like sheep.

As he or she becomes aware of and indoctrinated into a leader’s tribe, a person often becomes trusting of that leader based upon popular consensus opposed to leveraging critical thinking.

Sheep do not possess the same level of reasoning and cognitive abilities as humans.

Their behavior is primarily guided by instinct, natural tendencies, and the influence of their environment.

When sheep follow shepherds, it is largely driven by their herd mentality and their instinct to stay together for safety and protection.

Sheep perceive the presence of a shepherd as a symbol of guidance and security, which helps alleviate their natural tendencies towards fear and vulnerability.

Sheep, like humans, may also respond to auditory cues or familiar voices that the shepherd or leader provides, which further reinforces their inclination to follow.

The phenomenon where individuals tend to follow leaders or popular figures without engaging in much critical thinking or self-reflection is at an all time high, thanks to media and virtual communication advancements through The Information Age.

This behavior is often attributed to the influence of social norms, peer pressure, and the desire to conform.

Similar to how sheep follow their shepherd, people often unconsciously conform to the actions, opinions, or beliefs of leaders or popular figures due to a variety of factors including a sense of belonging, a perceived legitimacy of the leader's authority, or a lack of alternative perspectives.

This tendency to follow without much reflection on one's own values or beliefs can be seen as a result of human psychology and our inclination to seek guidance and direction from others.

A recent discussion about this topic with a Growth Seeking student led us to talking about how he can prioritize his tasks to more effectively and efficiently reach his goals.

I told him that time is a man-made construct in and of itself so the idea of putting off anything that one wants to accomplish — as in the case of his longer-term goals — is counterintuitive.

With this he asked, “So if you’re not attached to the specific goals then how do you know you’re going in the right direction?”

Great question!

It’s not so much about the attachment to specific goals that’s the issue, it’s more about attachment to timelines and details.

We discussed this and more live on my Fireside channel.

This is the recording: https://f.chat/sBm6

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