Admiration

It is approximately 6 a.m. and something I saw on social media yesterday has me pondering what admiration is and why we admire.

According to dictionary.reference.com admire means to regard with wonder, pleasure, or approval.

So why do we do it?

Something or someone new is admired because it's new. Human nature forces our curiosity. The grass is always greener on the other side kind of thinking until we realize the grass really isn't greener or in some cases the person we are admiring is a jerk.

Original thinking- When someone comes up with an idea that is different, new, fresh. We tend to regard this person as golden and place them high on a pedestal. We seek to follow their lead because of their innovative thinking. Sometimes we admire someone because they have accomplished a goal we have for ourselves.

Personality. It is on a rare occasion we meet someone who is so fantastic because of their humble or rare personality.

Leadership- We admire which puts someone in a position of leadership. Not everyone was born to be a leader. Most people are born to be followers. Think about it. If everyone was a leader there would be far too many chiefs and not enough cooperation as we'd all be forcing our ideas and thoughts. There would be more war and conflict.

I haven't yet figured out if I'm a leader or follower? Most of us are a little of both. We can learn from leaders. Someone always knows something more than you do. Take what you can and mesh it with your own. As humans we have long been said to be the most intelligent species on Earth. We have the ability to learn and apply knowledge.

Working in groups with or without a set leader can also be a fruitful experience. I love when minds merge together and not one person takes on the leadership role instead each person shares their own innovative idea but has the ability to try someone elses idea. I call it shared leadership. It is hard to find. Generally we want one person to take the lead. We want that burden in someone else's hands and someone is usually ready to take the reigns and go for it. I work best myself with shared leadership. Guiding others with my experience yet at the same time being guided.

Evolution- Is sharing leadership the evolution of mankind? Have we learned from past mistakes enough to change our DNA structure or has the gene always been there; the human capacity to continue learning and growing.

Our societies are built on leadership. Will that one day come to an end?

I don't know the answer to that and still see many occasions beyond a simple social media post that make me think too many people want and need a leader to guide them. However, I lean toward teaching others what I know and learning from what they know and click well with others who share that thinking. A supreme ruler is out dated and as history shows us he/she will fall.

I think I rambled a bit there but 6 a.m. will do that to my brain. My point is we need strong leaders and devote followers but sometimes we need the divergent as well. (my pun of the day)