How to survive as a rule follower.
Let me begin by confessing. The subtitle isn’t completely true because I haven’t figured out how to survive as a rule follower. It would have been more appropriate if I had phrased it as a question.
If this world belongs to the disruptors, how can you survive as a rule follower?
I started thinking about this earlier this year when I worked on a project with a particular colleague. I didn’t want to carry out an action because I was afraid of stepping on a superior’s toe, overstretching the bounds that I had placed myself in.
I remember him pushing me until I eventually did it. It turned out it wasn’t a big deal. The superior barely noticed.
It made me think of the many opportunities that we miss out on because of fear. It is the unafraid that rule the world. Scratch that, it is those that act despite their fear that rule the world.
I’ve told the story of a difficult lecturer and how I managed to escape his difficulties. He only called his favourites to answer questions and that is why they were his favourites, because they could answer his questions. The rest of the class didn’t fare well or were never called upon.
I was never called upon but for some crazy reason I rose up my hand, I volunteered. It is crazy because everyone that wasn’t his friend didn’t want to be noticed by him, that was the safest thing, better than being a target in every class. But here I was, not a friend, raising my hand for him to notice me.
I got that question and from then on, he called on me to answer. I never became one of his favourites but I was never a target. We had a camaraderie of some kind. That experience and many more helped me see that this world belongs to the brave.
If you are not brave, you will remain in the shadows of what ifs. I say this as a person whose greatest tendency is always to toe the line. My saving grace has been periodic bursts of spontaneity, always sponsored by the Holy Spirit. I’m thankful for God’s help and to show my gratitude, I want to continue to develop my bravery.
Sometimes the fear is so real that it curves around your vocal chords and chokes out your ability to speak. But what is scarier? Rejection or regret? Embarrassment or frustration? The shadows or freedom?
I am a rule follower. You’ve watched movies about one bright guy being shut down by some older cynic who doesn’t believe in his ideas. At the end of the day, his ideas come to life even if they didn’t believe in him. Basically, all the people who didn’t believe in Thomas Edison and rejected Walt Disney. Some days, I feel like I’m those people. The people who like the things the way they are. Not interested in shifting the status quo.
But this world belongs to disruptors. If you don’t learn to chart your own path, speak up, let fear be afraid of you, your life may not turn out the way you want. Even people that are rule followers are disruptors because they forge their own path when the world tends to be chaotic but the point is, say no to fear.
Embrace all that God has for you, run through doors that look like they were made for someone twice your size, assert your own destiny.
Every time I write, I’m writing to me too.
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