A few months ago I caught up with a friend who I had not seen for ages. After our catchup, as we made our way to her car, a torrent of people came towards us as a Rugby game had just finished. We are talking thousands of people as it was a large rugby league game. My worst nightmare.
I feel so anxious in big crowds and it took a lot not to freak out. I held it together as we walked down the middle of the street whilst everyone else was heading towards us. I would say this lasted about 10 minutes until we turned up a street and headed away and I breathed out a sigh of relief.
One thing I thought about was how tough it was to go against the grain in any shape or form. Everyone else heading in one direction and if you decide to step out of this and go another way, you have to be ready to make your own path, be strong and keep going as it is too easy to get swept up with the crowd and go with the flow.
By going against the grain you have to be prepared to stand up for your decision and if required, give the reasons as to why your way is better than their way.
If you feel going in a different direction is something that needs to be done, then do it. Have confidence in your decision making skills regardless if everyone else disagrees with you. It is difficult as I’ve said if you are the lone wolf but stay to what is true to you.
Here are 5 points for you to go through to push forward with your decision and stick with it, despite what others may say:
- Research – it may be a gut feel or it may be something you just want to do, but do your research. Make sure you have all the facts you need and are comfortable. We can be so fixated on going in a certain direction, but when looking into it further, you may come across points you hadn’t considered. So take a step back and find out more information. This will ensure you can go confidently with your decision and answer any questions that may get asked.
- Trust your inner judgement – you know you better than anyone. If your gut instinct is your guide, then go forth. If you tend to follow you head, then go with it. Up to this point in your life, you will have made countless decisions, think about how you made these. Did you follow your head/heart/gut? We are all different and make decisions in a number of different ways, but if one of these is how you got there, then don’t let others sway you from it. (Unless there is a danger to your life, ie. sticking your head in a lions mouth!)
- Where could it take me? – This is a good questions to ask if you are hesitating. It could be you are concerned about making the wrong decision, but is there such a thing? All decisions lead to a different path on your life journey and this could take you to a bigger and better place. So if you are the only one thinking it is a great idea or decision to make, ask your self the question of ‘Where could it take me’? You can always speak to those who are disagreeing and let them know why you are making this decision and where you think it will lead you too.
- What’s the worst that could happen? – Hopefully, you are already set on making your decision but as the rest of your tribe are perhaps against it, think about what is the worst thing that could happen if you go with what you want? Is it a big deal or in reality will it not have a huge impact if it didn’t go to plan? As above, all decisions lead down a path, so if it did go wrong, where will you end up? Unless the decision you are making will be life threatening to you or others, then I’m sure the worst thing is unlikely to do harm.
- Taking a risk – Sometimes you have to take a risk to achieve something you want. It might not be a popular decision, but if you have been sitting in this space for a long time, then you are already mentally prepared for it, whereas others aren’t, I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? Go for it. If the risk pays off you will always be glad you made the decision to take it.
Going against the grain is never easy, there will always be people who want you to conform to their ways or take the known path. But if you know it is the right decision, then don’t let others put you off. It could be the best decision you ever made. So be confident and go for it.
Thank you for reading, have a great week and don’t forget to look after you!
Love Emma xx
Wellbeing with Relaxing Lavender 