Ridicule, Opposition, Acceptance

When we take a stand which is not in line with the stand of majority of people, we are tentative & nervous. Most of the time we start looking outward instead of looking inward. We hear the voices which are asking us to take a popular stand. And more often than not we succumb to the outside pressure. The same thing happens with any new idea. It passes through three stages. 

First & most of all our idea is not taken earnestly. We are made fun of for thinking out of the box. Most of the time we succumb to people ridiculing our idea that looks strange to them from the word go. To be very frank, their behavior is not very strange. It is a human tendency to mock anything which is weird. And in the first look, any new idea seems weird. They don't laugh at your stupidity; they laugh at their own. They believe in the theory that if it is not done before now, it cannot be done now as well; if it is not done by them, it cannot be done by any other human being. Ridicule by others is in fact a signal that your idea is fresh and different.

The second stage is opposition. Most of the ideas get killed at the stage one. But if by any chance they survive the ridicule of people around them, they face a stiff opposition from cynics around them. People oppose the idea because it might cause an aberration in their set routine. Because it might force them to change not only their behavior but also their lifestyle. Any change is difficult to adopt. You may be considered a social outcast for your weird ideas. But, keep marching not for your idea but for the change that your idea might bring in your life and in the lives of others.

And if you succeed to cross the second hurdle, you will have the world at your feet. They will applaud you for the same ideas that they ridiculed & opposed. They will accept the idea not because they liked it but because you left them with no other option but to accept it.

It is a pity that most of the ideas die at a nascent stage not because the father of the idea doubts it, but because someone else who has no inkling of the idea is cynical about it. So, the next time you drop a brilliant idea check whether you are dropping the idea because of your own inhibition about it or because of some outside pressure. Remember, if you don't give a shape to your idea, someone else at some other place will do so.