If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. ~ Henry David Thoreau
NOTE: We often feel pressure to follow popular paths. The pressures we feel may influence how we dress, work, or think. If we bow to the pressures we’ll never figure out who we are and what’s important to us. We’ll be living out the thoughts and desires of others. I was changing jobs and when I went to my first meeting with my new colleagues, one of the senior colleagues took me aside and said, “We don’t wear ties here.” Hmmm. I liked wearing a tie and jacket. I knew in that moment if I surrendered to this colleague’s way of thinking, I would be surrendering a piece of independence. Perhaps I was a bit arrogant, but I continued wearing my tie and jacket. I felt better and I felt free. Be yourself, resist pressures that prevent you from being yourself.