Group thinking, the idea that everyone in the group thinks alike is an interesting concept. It is a concept that lends itself to my old adage, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
When we contemplate thinking like the group we usually think it is a negative thing. We think it means that we are conforming. It means that we are going against what is good for us and falling in line with the group.
We are encouraged not to think like the group. We are told to be your own person, think for yourself, don’t fall for what others are doing or saying. Stand out from the crowd.
Sometimes this is good advice. But as I said earlier, if we change how we look at things they may show us another side. That’s true with the idea of group thinking.
The other side of group thinking would consider the power we have as a group when we all have the same goal. We are stronger together and can encourage and support each other if we have common thinking.
In nature we sometimes call this herd mentality. With herd mentality, what effects one in the herd effects all. That could mean that we are all working together. We are all trying to go the same way. Like a heard of animals working and living together.
We give herd mentality a bad name. We call it pack or mob mentality. We use it when we describe people being influenced to behave negatively.
But look at it like this. What happens on a small scale happens on a large scale. If I can be at peace with myself I can advance that to be at peace with another. I can have peace in my family. If I work hard I can have peace in my organizations and corporations.
Now if this is true, I can have peace in my city, my county, my state and my country. Just like I work to have peace with my spouse, my country can work to have peace with other countries.
This happens only if we are of like mind. If we are thinking the same.
When my spouse and I think about how we want to live together; we design ways that will result in peace. We do the same with the people we work with, that we play sports with, etc.
Why can’t this same thing happen on a continuing escalating and larger scale? Why can’t we all contribute to our communities and our world being a peaceful place just like we do with our homes or teams?
I think it is a matter of us all thinking alike. If we are all thinking about how we can get along or how we can be at peace, then it will work on a big scale just like it does in our individual relationships.
We must change the way we look at things. We look at the world as if countries can’t get along. But we don’t put that same limitation on ourselves.
Many of us find a way to get along with family members that we don’t always agree with or co-workers that we must work with. The world has agreed on many things and we all think alike about those things.
We think alike about our families, our health, our surroundings and more. When we realize this, we find common ground. We get along. We see each other as the same.
Why not try group thinking? Let’s think as a group about how the world can be a better place, how we can get along.
We could be like the birds that fly together or the lions that hunt together. We could be like a team where everyone has the same goal and the same mindset to win. We could be like a family with all types of personalities that finds a way to appreciate and love each other.
Call it group thinking, herd mentality or whatever. I think it would be a much better world if we would all just agree to get along and have peace.
Peace to you and all of us.