It's always nice to be called the game-changer.
Ever stop to wonder if every game needs some changes? Ever thought you should or must do something different?
It sounds cool when you're introduced as the game-changer. Everyone in the room turns to see "the guy who changed the narrative."
While that, in itself, is satisfactory, you don't always try to do so especially if the change may not turn out to be a positive one.
This article may sound strange because being the game-changer is an anthem for motivational speakers. Besides, I have nothing against them. I believe they have helped many people with their speeches and books. I am even a beneficiary.
However, there comes a time in your professional journey or life when you ask yourself: Do I have to change the game? Will this change I am proposing bring a negative outcome instead? Is the current system failing?
This is not to say being innovative is detrimental to growth or advancement. This means don't destroy what is working because you want to adopt what "might" work all to prove you're a game-changer too.
Many top government officials have signed some harmful laws just to become "game-changers".
Don’t be too obsessed with creating a new path
There is a popular quote: "If it isn't broken, don't fix it."
Although I have some reservations about its insinuations, I quite agree that not everything needs fixing and one shouldn't be overly concerned about fixing things that don't need fixing.
I can recall that when I was much younger, I wanted to become an artist.
I could draw 20 hours in a day and force myself to take 4 hours of rest.
Drawing was a way of self-expression for me. I can recall I even tore my school notebooks to draw. I loved it and everyone around me knew I did. Now I can see how "foolish" that action was.
No. It's not wrong to love to do something great, but it is wrong to do it at the cost of something that is equally essential. And that was where I missed it.
But, here is the take-home: sometimes, after creating a masterpiece, I would destroy it by "trying to make it more appealing" and then, I would spend the rest of the day regretting my action — after ruining it.
It took me a while to see the need to appreciate the work when it was already finished.
People who have such an attitude cause some damage to their businesses too by trying to fix what doesn't even need fixing at the expense of something else that is in dire need of fixing. It could also be in the form of spending more money to replace factory equipment while the business still lacks other essential equipment it can't do without, especially when what has been replaced could have still served for a few more years.
Decide to follow the 0.1% if the 99.9% seem to miss it
Although I have written a lengthy piece on not trying to fix what isn't broken, we could still pay reasonable attention to seemingly minor things sometimes.
This would require going a different route from popular opinion and general views. At such a time, you could go with the 0.1% instead of the 99.9%
However, these are quite rare instances. An example of such a time is if the suggestion of the 99.9% is against your religious beliefs and human nature (not extremism).
If you're 100% convinced your path is the right one, kindly stick with it instead of following the crowd. This would make you stand out in a crowd which shouldn't be your sole aim in the first place.
Being different just for the sake of being so is odd.
So, be different rather than odd!
If this post sounds very different from what you're used to, I can guarantee you that wasn't my intention.