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Question Popular Thinking

Questioning popular thinking can be challenging, but there are valid reasons for you to do so. When people follow a trend, they usually do not give it much thought. Although you may view popular thinking as a source of safety and security, there is a large difference between acceptance and intelligence. Because popular thinking favors the status quo, it discourages innovation and brings average results. Being an entrepreneur and someone who tends to question anything that the masses are following all my life, I have not had a major issue with this point. Here are five different ways for you to question the acceptance of popular thinking:

Think before following. You need to consider what is best, rather than what is popular. When you challenge popular thinking it means that you will need to step off of the well-worn trail. When you go against popular thinking, you may be blazing your own trail, but it often hold the seed of vision and opportunity that others won’t recognize.
Appreciate different types of thinking. When you appreciate the ways that other people think, you open yourself up to embrace innovation and change. It is useful to spend time with people who think differently.
Question your own way of thinking. It will be a major temptation to return to a way of thinking that once worked well, even if it is no longer effective. You must realize that your successes of today can often be the enemy of your successes tomorrow.
Try new things in new ways. In order to get yourself out of a rut, innovate in small, everyday ways. By thinking unconventionally, you will question the way things are done and look for new options.
Get accustomed to being uncomfortable. All change is uncomfortable. Popular thinking is comfortable. When you embrace new ways of thinking and the achievements that will result, you will have discomfort.
Embrace thinking that may not be popular and make decisions based upon what works best and what is right.