What is it like to observe the crowd without being a part of it?

Hie! If you’re wondering what this post is about, well, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure either. So stick around, and we’ll figure it out together.

When I say I’m not part of the crowd, I don’t mean I’m some extraordinary superhero or an exceptional individual. It simply means I’ve chosen to walk a path that’s different from the one most people follow these days. This isn’t about my career or education (we all mostly have it the same). It’s about making choices based on my own values and beliefs, rather than going along with where the crowd is going.

Um, you might be wondering what exactly I do differently that makes me a no-crowd person? Well, I don’t have all the answers, but here are a few things to consider:

Consciousness

I don’t drink, smoke, or vape, which I can say with certainty is something the majority of people do. And I don’t have a problem with people who do — I just see it as trading (I write software, so I measure everything in trade-offs) a piece of your life for a fleeting moment of comfort.

Entertainment

I don’t get hyped about movies, concerts, celebrities, or cricket. In fact, I barely care about any of these things that most people seem to live for. I often think about how many collective human hours have been wasted gossiping about these overhyped topics — hours that could have been spent making the world a better place.

Hero Worship

I don’t engage in hero or celebrity worship. I only consider someone a worthy individual if they’ve made a meaningful impact on society or helped ordinary people. And yes, it is not politicians or stupid star players of your favorite sports team. The idea of worshipping humans is something that I just don’t understand, and I know for a fact that it is the stupidest thing one can do.

And dear reader, if you’re one of those people, please rethink your choices. There are much better things that you can do in life; for instance, you can put the same effort into caring for the people who are close to you, and it will easily have a much better impact on your life.

Social Media

I have little to no interest in social media anymore. I don’t chase likes, followers, or care to keep up with what others are doing, especially when it’s so common now for people to put their personal lives on display, almost as if they’re up for sale, just for a few likes. Honestly, the best thing I’ve done this year is delete my Instagram account. Even though I barely used it, I’ve never felt better.

Opinions

I don’t adopt popular or political opinions without understanding them myself. If you look around, people barely have opinions or values these days; they just go with whatever is more popular or what their idols have said. In fact, many people have reached a point where they blindly follow influencers, celebrities, or political figures they idolize—if these figures suggest something harmful or misguided, their followers simply follow that without question.

This is because these people do not have any values of their own; instead, they’ve borrowed them from the ones they idolize. The psychology behind this blind devotion fascinates me, and I could write a book about it, but I’ll save that for another post.

Consumerism

I don’t chase the latest and greatest gadgets or materialistic things just for status, which seems to be the norm these days. An unpopular opinion on this is how some people buy expensive phones just to show off, as if it’s a status symbol. I don’t get it. Most of the time, they’re just using them for endless scrolling on social media and watching videos—wasting even more time.

I don’t have an opinion on how people should use their phones, but this is an exception—many barely know how to use them beyond the mindless scrolling and video-watching I mentioned earlier.

What is it like to observe the crowd without being a part of it?

Coming back to the question where it all started — how does it actually feel? Well, to be honest, it feels pretty great. Making decisions based on my own values, rather than accepting whatever society throws at me, feels liberating. I don’t feel the constant need to keep up with trends or impress people, which saves time, mental energy, and money.

Still, I sometimes wonder if I’m missing out on something. But then I ask myself: Am I really missing out? And if I had it, would it even make me happy right now? Well, most of the times, the answer is no — because I never prioritized it in the first place. In the end, I’d rather miss out on what doesn’t matter than lose myself chasing what was never meant for me.

Wrap up

Alright, that’s a lot for one post. If you’re a reader who is part of the crowd, I’m not here to judge you. We all make our own choices based on what we value or find interesting. But maybe take a moment to reflect on why you follow. Is it because it genuinely makes you happy, or is it because everyone else is doing it?

Sometimes, we need to step away from the crowd to see what we couldn’t see while standing in it. And if you’re already not a part of the crowd, know that you’re not alone in being alone. Have a great day!