Don't be a Lemming!

When we do what we are "supposed to" or "should" do we are listening to others. I suggest we learn to listen to ourselves. Listen to your instincts. The quiet voice inside you will tell you the direction of your unique path.

In other words--don't be a Lemming and follow everyone else off the cliff. I know, I know. We heard things like this from our parents "if everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you?" Generally in response to our lame justification for wanting something or wanting to do something because "everyone else" had it/was doing it.

What our parents didn't want us to know, is that they would have been pretty darn happy if we followed what THEY did...or at least what they told us they did!

Don't get me wrong--my parents (and yours too I suspect) did the absolute best they could. They wanted the best things for me. What they thought were the best things for me. And my parents loved me 100 million percent. Even when I drove them absolutely bonkers.

The thing is, we are all individuals. As such we have different likes, dislikes, needs and wants. So what is best for one of us is not necessarily best for anyone else. Although we all tend to think we know what is best for our friends and relatives, we can only truly know what is best for ourselves.

So if we know what is best for us, why do we make such mistakes as drinking too much, going out in public in that outfit, and marrying the wrong person?

Perhaps it is because we are not listening to our own inner voice. Sometimes we are trying so hard to be "the good girl" (or guy), or the "proper" person, or the one that society/our parents/the neighbors will be proud of, that we forget to stop and get really quiet and listen to our own hearts and what we really want out of life.

Decide today to get quiet and really listen. Don't talk. Just listen. Don't even pray. Just listen. This takes some practice--most of us aren't all that comfortable with the silence. But it is worth the effort, for it is in the silence that our soul will whisper to us. It might be in the wee hours of the morning, or late at night. It might be while you are sitting on the bed, or going for a walk. Leave the iPod at home once in a while when you go for your walk. Give your inner voice a chance.

Then when you hear it, listen--and don't be a lemming.