Today I’m typing from the airport instead of the homestead, which means I’m about as far from my comfort zone as a chicken in a swimming pool.
But you know what? Sometimes being yanked out of your usual routine gives you the clearest perspective on life. And this morning, as I navigated the absolute circus that is modern air travel, one thought kept bouncing around my brain like a pinball:
Figure out what everyone is doing and then do the opposite.
This little nugget of wisdom served me mighty fine at the airport today, let me tell you:
- If you want to find a parking space quicker than a hiccup, figure out which garages people choose first (usually the middle ones) then mosey on over to the structures on the outer edges. While everyone else is circling like vultures, you’re already parked and walking.
- If you want the cleanest bathroom stall, skip the middle ones that everyone gravitates toward and pick either the first or the last. Trust me on this one, folks.
- If you want the fastest security line, don’t just plop yourself in the first one you see near the check-in counters. Walk your behind about five minutes further and you’ll find lines with half the people and twice the speed.
I get a real kick out of finding patterns like this. And you know what? Human herds remind me an awful lot of my cattle herd back home.
We both prefer the path of least resistance. We’re both more comfortable traveling in groups. And if a herd of people (or cows) are all flowing in one direction, everyone tends to follow along like sheep, even if we don’t have the foggiest idea where we’re headed.
This desire to fit in, to not rock the boat, to not stick out like a sore thumb, and to stay within the safety of the herd is apparently hardwired into us deeper than tick on a hound dog.
BUT… have you ever noticed that the people we admire most throughout history were the exact opposite of that?
We celebrate the weirdos, the big thinkers, the brave explorers, the inventors, the challengers of the status quo, the rebels, the revolutionaries, the people who dared to park in the outer garages (okay, maybe not that last one), but then we do everything in our power to stay smack dab in the middle of the herd.
It’s fascinating as all get-out.
Yet, the best adventures are never found within the pack.
Of course, this applies to way more than some silly airport shenanigans.
- If you want to afford a homestead, look at what everyone wants (that picture-perfect farmhouse complete with adorable coop and white picket fence straight out of a magazine) and get the exact opposite. Hunt down the ugly, marginal land with a fixer-upper house sporting orange shag carpet that looks like it belongs in a horror movie.
- If you want to be healthy as a horse, look at what the standard American eats (seed oils, cheap industrial grains, enough sugar to kill a mule) and run the other direction faster than a cat with its tail on fire.
- If you want to be happier than a tornado in a trailer park, look at what society is doing (sedating with screens, consuming like there’s no tomorrow, distracting with entertainment) and do the exact opposite.
It’s not exactly the “proven” path to success, but I’ll be hornswoggled if it isn’t pretty darn close.
Am I oversimplifying things? Probably more than a Sunday sermon. There are certainly exceptions to every rule, and I’m not saying you should be contrary just for the sake of being ornery. But I can attest that my contrarian streak has served me well over the years, better than butter on a biscuit.
So much so, that I now actively seek out the opposite way in almost everything I do, like a bloodhound on a scent trail.
Here’s what I want you to chew on today:
- Where in your life have you been assuming you had to fall in line with the herd like a good little sheep?
- What would happen if you took the road less travelled? Or better yet, ditched the proven path entirely and went off-roading through the backwoods instead?
- What if the very thing everyone says you “can’t do” or “shouldn’t do” is exactly what you need to be doing?
The truth is, exciting things are out there waiting for us, friends. We just have to get out of the ruts deeper than a pothole after spring thaw, cast off the status quo like last year’s overalls, and be a little weird.
Because let me tell you something…normal ain’t working for most folks. Normal is stressed out, broke, unhealthy, and unhappy. Normal is following the crowd straight off a cliff.
But weird? Weird is interesting. Weird is free. Weird is where the magic happens.
So next time you catch yourself doing something just because “that’s how everyone does it,” stop right there and ask yourself: “What would happen if I zigged when everyone else zagged?”
You might just surprise yourself with what you find on the other side of conventional wisdom.
Living this contrarian life, -Nichole
P.S. Speaking of going against the grain, it takes a lot to make me leave the homestead these days, but a photo shoot for the cover of my new book was definitely worth abandoning the chickens for a few days. This book is going to shake things up something fierce when it hits shelves this fall, and my publish date can’t come quick enough!
