Mount Vernon High School

Beware of the Herd Mentality In July 2005, shepherds tending their flock outside a small Turkish village relaxed while their sheep grazed nearby. Inexplicably and out of nowhere, one of those sheep took off for a nearby cliff, leaped over the edge and crashed to its death on the rocks below. The stunned shepherds watched as nearly 1,500 other sheep blindly followed suit. In the end, more than 450 sheep were killed. The rest miraculously survived, cushioned by the growing pile of wooly carcasses lying on the cavern floor below. This ba-a-a-affling (sorry) incident highlights the thoughtless approach and often unfortunate result of adopting what’s known as a “herd mentality,” when members of a group blindly follow the crowd around them into an unwanted and often unintended demise. Each of us here today is responsible for deciding who it is we’ll choose to follow and which path we’ll choose to take in the important areas of our life moving forward. The Turkish sheep tragedy serves as a cautionary tale about just how easy - and just how dangerous - blindly following the crowd can be. The herd mentality is easy to adopt because it’s the most comfortable and convenient option. Like most other mammals - including sheep - humans are hard-wired for survival. That means that while chasing excellence in life is important, it’s not natural. Most people have conditioned themselves to search for and settle for the path of least resistance. That’s made comfort and convenience their top priority, and average or ordinary performance the hallmark of their existence. This mass march toward mediocrity creates a sort of momentum, and offers each of us an invitation to blindly and thoughtlessly join the parade. Fighting against that momentum isn’t easy. There’s a level of discomfort and inconvenience that comes with swimming upstream, going against the grain, and carving out our own path. And yet, when you stop and consider the reality of what authentic achievement requires from us, you recognize that this is really the only option we've got. It’s a narrow and mostly uninhabited road that leads to excellence in any area of life. If you do what most people are doing, then you’ll probably get what most people are getting. What most people are getting is a story headed towards an unfortunate ending. A commitment to comfort and convenience is running their potential right off a cliff. Fitting in, following the crowd, and justifying the average approach is killing the person and the performer they were created to be. But that’s the thing about the herd mentality. The momentum of the masses can fool you into thinking you’re doing just fine. After all, look around...there's plenty of company. Unfortunately, many people don’t recognize the reality of their decisions until it’s too late. So the challenge for each of us here today is simple. Don’t be a sheep. If you’re here with a desire to do something meaningful and significant, then don’t allow yourself to justify the comfortable and convenient path of least resistance. That's a crowded road, but it’s a dangerous road, and it’ll take you someplace you likely end up regretting. Instead, recognize the risk that comes with fitting in, and beware of the herd mentality. Be thoughtful and intentional enough to clarify what your very best looks like and what it requires, and then muster up the courage it takes to chase excellence, even in the midst of the mediocrity around you. Validate through your choices and behavior today that while most people are blindly and thoughtlessly following the herd, you have instead chosen the way of the champion. That’s a difficult decision, but one I’m confident you won’t regret. -Travis