Are You a Sheep?

Are you a sheep? Do you feel more comfortable with a set of instructions on how to go through your day and live your life? Or, do you see yourself more as an independent, wanting to pave your own path? I think, as a general rule, that all of us fall into one of the two categories.

The sheep type personality tend to gravitate toward structured systems of rules and schedules. Folks that enjoy the military might be among these. In the military you are told when to wake up, how to polish your boots, make your bed, and how to address those around you (salute or not to salute). Some people feel very at home in this structured environment. They enjoy not having to think about what they will be doing for the day and only focusing on completing lists of tasks and schedules that are handed to them.

Those who are passionate about religion also tend to be among the sheep mentality. They enjoy the sense of structure religion gives their lives. A church will give a specific guide book of rules to follow. They will tell you how to behave toward your neighbor, whom and when you should have sex, what kinds of thoughts you should think, and which days your should work and not work. It might not be as structured and micro-managed as the military, but it is a very structured lifestyle.

In contrast, independent thinkers tend to be labeled as rebels. The question many of the societies rules and like to have the maximum amount of freedom they can without getting in trouble with the law (although many even push legal limits). Independents would never survive the military or structured religion. Many of those who become leaders are independent thinkers. They tend be able to thrive as business owners and heads of organizations and groups. I think I fall into this later category. This is not to say that independent thinkers cannot survive in a system of rules, but rather than they tend to thrive in areas without structure and do not typically like being told how to conduct their lives.

Anyway, it is something to think about… are you a sheep or an independent?