I remember growing up seeing a fast food restaurant TV ad that depicted a group of people who seemed to always be doing the same thing for lunch, and this ad wanted you to try something different.  People say “go outside the box” for a reason.  Are you stuck in your box?  Sometimes, I get that way too.  But every once in a while, I like to mix it up a little.  I will wear something to work that brings a little more attention than I like, but do it watch people’s reactions of me doing it.  You see, I do not like any attention on me, but the focus becomes on what I am doing, not who is doing it.  That creates conversation and maybe inspires others to do the something a little different.  It takes no courage, no free will, or motivation to follow the crowd.  You are on autopilot.  Being a conformist is one of the easiest things to do — because you don’t have to think for yourself.  You are a follower!  If you find yourself amidst the crowd, have you determined why you are there?  Some people are happy letting others make all the decisions and just float along through life, like a leaf floating in a small creek.  Others want to control what direction their lives are going to take and step away from the crowd to do just that!  Is this you?  Is it someone you know?  Have you watched someone step away from the crowd?  It is awesome to see.  People begin to grow confident, powerful, and determined like never before when they are free to choose for themselves where they want to go in their lives.  But you have to choose.  It is your choice to make, although it may not be an easy one.  But the more you step “outside the box”, the easier it becomes.  You allow yourself the freedom to decide what happens next.  Even if you feel like you might have that big of a “say” in what happens next, is it better to be passive?  I don’t sit still well, if at all.  In fact, if I am slowing down, that is when people should wonder.  But I have taken a different approach to my life and have decided to be proactive instead of reactive.  There is a difference, and I notice it.  I can be patient, but don’t like to wait when I can do something.  And I try to acknowledge it somehow when someone I know has decided to stop following the crowd.  Maybe the excuses finally have stopped making sense of they just have finally given themselves permission to try something new.  If we stay in the same old routine, guess what we get?  The same old, routine.  It doesn’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to have all the answers.  But I would rather live with the temporary feeling of being afraid, uncomfortable, and vulnerable than live with a lifetime full of regrets.  And do not believe for ONE second that it is too late.  It is NEVER too late to change your life.  To change the life of others.  Take full advantage of the time you have and use it wisely.  When I look back on my life, I will not say that I merely completed tasks, but that I created a legacy that will live on in the people I have met along the way.  I decided years ago to stop following the crowd and I have never been happier.  I let go of everything I thought I wasn’t and started to believe in all I could be.  Where would you rather be — lost and unrecognizable in some crowd or standing out on your own, giving people the view of a lifetime?  I want you to go outside your comfort zone and push yourself to be more than you ever thought possible.  And regardless of what happens, I want you to “Do It Anyway” by Martina McBride

Michelle A. Homme 2014 ©