When I was about 7 years old, I recall being part of a soccer training camp for kids.
It basically involved approximately 50 local kids being trained by expert coaches on the skills of the game. There were also a few games and competitions thrown in for good measure.
Each competition had a prize.
It is one of those competitions that has remained in my memory banks. Winning it probably helps, but it was more than that. It was the way I won.
This particular competition was a football related quiz. All the kids were in a room grouped together. There was a quizmaster and three points of the room.
Once the question was asked, the kids would then choose their answer by walking over to the point of the room that represented their answer. Point one, two or three.
If a kid chose the wrong spot for an answer, then they would be eliminated.
Now the first two questions were fairly straight forward questions that most of us knew the answer to. The interesting thing with this competition though was the behaviour of those who didn’t know the answer to follow the majority.
Seems we don’t lose this trait as we get older too!
Anyway, because everyone who knew the answer would go to one spot, those who didn’t know the answer also went to that spot.
So after two questions, all 50 kids remained. This was going to be a long quiz!
But then the third question came. It was a question that was near on impossible for a 7 year old kid to know. Something obscure such as who had won the Chatham cup in a year that was about 20 years before we were all born.
What unfolded was one kid went straight to an answer, then another followed, and another, until there were about 45 kids all heading for the one answer. How can 90% of the kids who do not know the answer all go to the same spot?
Statistically speaking a third of kids should have gone to each answer since no one knew the answer.
The reason is herd mentality and wanting to fit in with the crowd.
As someone who was not the most popular or always wanting to go with crowd, I went my own way. I started heading for another point in the room. I was then followed by a few others, and no one went for the third option.
For a question that no one knew the answer to, there should have been a 33% chance of getting it right. Yet, 0% went to one answer and 90% to another.
Turns out we were right, and it was down to just 5.
Same thing happened with the fourth question. Extremely difficult question that no one knew. But this time I delayed my decision. All 4 went straight to one answer and I struck out on my own again.
By pure luck I got it right and won a brand new soccer ball.
I’m not writing this to brag about how good I am for winning a competition. It was pure luck after all.
reap the rewards of being different
Now that I am older, I just think about this behaviour we showed as kids, and how it relates to life as grown-ups.
The lesson is don’t be afraid to go out on your own direction, instead of going with the majority. The rewards can be well worthwhile.
The majority of New Zealander’s don’t save enough money
The majority of New Zealander’s have most of their net worth tied to their houses.
The majority of New Zealander’s work at jobs they don’t enjoy
The majority of New Zealander’s miss out on seeing their children grow up because they are too busy working.
The majority of New Zealander’s worry about their retirement but don’t do anything about it.
The majority of New Zealanders are unfit and unhealthy
The majority of New Zealander’s are uneducated about their finances
So don’t be afraid to do something a little different sometimes. You may not win a prize, but at least you won’t be like the majority, because the majority aren’t winning.
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