How to not be a lemming

By | February 26, 2019
29 Comments

Most people are lemmings about most things. To borrow the eloquence of Martha Stewart, that’s a good thing. Mostly. There are a TON of things in this life to learn about and it’s simply impossible for any single puny human being to take the time to make an informed decision about everything.

Most people are lemmings in their avoidance of trying meth, which is undoubtedly the right path and shouldn’t require too much consideration. One Google Images search for “people on meth” should be enough to dissuade most people. Scary. 

A lot of people are lemmings for sports teams. Hey, I grew up in this city and it’s easy to get swept up in the certainty that our team ROCKS and your team SUCKS.

I went to a ton of Bulls games when I worked in Chicago. Me with my sister, brother-in-law, and cousin.

Some people are lemmings for religion. It’s convenient and natural to accept what your parents tell you as gospel about the questions that seem unknowable. Mom and Dad would never lead you astray. At least, not on purpose. 

So maybe there are certain items in this world in which you gladly accept your lemming-status. You do you.

But there are others areas where accepting your lemming status is unacceptable. Period. Personal finance is the obvious one in this space. Don’t be a lemming for consumerism and you can retire early.

Do you want that thing, piece of stuff, junk-item instead of freedom?

It’s all about picking your lemmings. Be thoughtful about your life. Understand what you’re doing and why. It’s empowering.

If you’re inclined to question your lemming status, gather up your critical thinking skills and a bit of time and you can check out what people are saying and decide for yourself what path to take and what is right for you.

Consider who paid for the information to become available and what they want

People have agendas and normally when they do something, it’s for a reason.

Scientific studies are the best example of this. You can find a study that supports anything you want it to say, but not all studies are created equal. “A new study finds Thriftygal is the bomb.” I commissioned that one.

Ask yourself if the information is phrased to appeal to your emotions or to your logic.

Emotion isn’t inherently good or bad, but it can be manipulated. Logic is a better way to get there. I’m a reader, so I prefer reading transcripts to watching or hearing someone tell me something.

Let me parse the words. This helps me decide which voices in the void are credible and which voices I should mute when making decisions.

Read the directions even if you don’t follow them

Other people know more than you about some things. If they’re the experts and writing the instructions, there’s a good chance they’ve figured out the most efficient way. Read what they’re saying and understand what they’re saying before you decide to disagree with them.

I love reading directions. But I’m an obliger who is good at following them.

Anchorage

Articulate the arguments of the opposite opinion.

Keep an open mind and consider that your initial reaction may be wrong. We’re all wrong occasionally. And if we admit to occasionally being wrong when we are, we’re right more of the time. Oftentimes, the mainstream opinion is mainstream because it’s true.

I make more pro/con lists than anyone should probably make. It’s the lawyer inside of me. Argue both sides. Almost every side has some merit.

Don’t waste time and energy engaging with stupid, inarticulate people.

There are stupid people in the world. They don’t have an open mind and are so committed to their opinions that they’ve created their own facts. I’m sure there’s a way to engage with them, but I just feel sad after spending any brain cells with them, so I don’t spend much time interacting.

I know I’m just another voice in the void and I am definitely not credible on everything. Maybe I’m the troll. In that case, don’t spend time and energy engaging with me.

Article #3 I’ve held back for years because I didn’t like it enough. This was from 2016 when I still regularly referred to myself as “Thriftygal” in the text.

29 thoughts on “How to not be a lemming”

  5. Douglas Morris

    For something written in 2016, it seems more relevant now than ever. Great piece, great photo too.

    Reply ↓
  7. Humpback

    Thriftygal, I think you probably had several posts mashed into this old draft. Flesh out some of these original ideas more deeply. Your take on directions seems unique and needs more examples and explanation. And everyone always needs detailed “how-to’s” on making the right choices. Plus, your example of ignoring biased/meaningless studies is rarely mentioned.

    Thanks.

    Reply ↓
  9. Michael

    Hi Thrifty Gal, you’re far from a troll. I listen to you. Thank you for this thoughtful article.

    Reply ↓
    1. Thriftygal Post author

      I think it’s wise to listen to me on most things, but I’m most definitely wrong about some things. The odds demand it. But thank you for this comment. 🙂

      Reply ↓
  10. Lance

    Keep in mind that virtually all human characteristics fall on a bell curve, so, by definition, HALF the population is below average intelligence. Now when you consider that virtually all companies, organizations, etc have a limited budget…and it’s much easier to sell to stupid people…suddenly commercials, rush hour drivers and political campaigns make much more sense. It’s much easier to convince the weak minded to “join in, be cool like us” than it is to build a better product or be a real leader.

    Reply ↓
    1. Thriftygal Post author

      I had a bit about Dunning Kruger that I deleted. Sometimes stupid people are too stupid to realize they’re stupid.

      Reply ↓
  11. Mark

    Love it. I’m going to get the words ‘choose your lemmings wisely’ tattooed on my body somewhere.

    Reply ↓
  12. Reese

    Its sadly taken a long time for me to realize this, but this article really resonated with me. I often find myself thinking that people are lemmings.

    Reply ↓
  13. Angele

    Hi Anita,
    I love this post, (I mean, I can’t remember a post of yours that I didn’t love, but whatever), and I’m with you on all of the things, (high-five to the Dunning-Kruger research!).
    Except the “lemming” part.
    Because lemmings are, actually, pretty smart and resourceful, and the reason that we humans tend to think of them as stupid animals with a suicidal pack mentality is all thanks to a 1958 Disney documentary called “White Wilderness,” which depicted a herd of lemmings throwing themselves off a cliff.
    Long story short, the film presents all sorts of misinformation including, but not limited to, the infamous cliff-diving scene which was, in fact, faked.
    This article http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141122-the-truth-about-lemmings Is a pretty good, short summary with some links to other fun lemming stuff, which I think you might like, because you seem to like research as much as me 🙂
    -Angèle

    Reply ↓
    1. Thriftygal Post author

      Ha! Thanks for correcting me. I don’t want to unfairly malign lemmings. That reminds me of a Simpsons quote. “Weaseling out of things is what separates us from the animals. Except for the weasel.” 🙂

      Reply ↓
  14. classical_liberal

    You have to know and understand the purpose of the rules before you break them.
    -Me 2019

    Reply ↓

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