“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”

Coco Chanel

There are two things that strike me about this quote from Coco Chanel. The first is the courage to think for yourself. Group Think seems to be more prevalent now than it has ever been. Too many people seem willing to farm out their thinking to the boss, the group, the screamers and yellers, someone on the Internet with a huge following or their favourite media source. 

It takes courage to think for yourself, to expose yourself to a wide range of information and perspectives, to seek out the research, facts and evidence and to be willing to challenge your own assumptions. 

The second part of the quote is the courage to do it aloud. This is not about you becoming one of the screamers and yellers. It is not about having to comment on every post someone else makes on social media. It is not about trying to prove you are right and others are wrong. It is not about trying to debate everything and win every debate.

It is about the courage to speak up and say, “This is what I believe, and this is why I believe this.” It is the courage to have strong beliefs loosely held and the willingness to be open to new evidence that would cause you to change your beliefs. It is about challenging the status quo. It is about speaking up and asking, “What if there is a better way? What if we could do it?” It is about speaking up and saying, “This is not who we are. This is not what we stand for.” When the group is making decisions that deviate from the core values of the organization. 

What’s Important Now? Be courageous. Think for yourself. Aloud. 

Take care.

Brian Willis

www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com. 

ONE QUESTION BRINGING FOCUS AND CLARITY IN THE CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY OF TODAY'S WORLD.

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