The Different Drummer

The Different Drummer

(By: Jojo C. Pinca)

According to the great American writer, philosopher and civil rights activist Henry David Thoreau "if a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away". This is one of my favorite quotations. It means that if you can't conform to the prevalent standard within your organization (e.g. school or company) it is probably because you believe in a different set of principles. Your ideology, aspiration and motive are not the same with them. An example of this is, you are studying medicine but your heart is in literature. Or perhaps you are working in a corporate office earning good salary but your real interest is in writing. In short you are there physically but you are not really one of them. Deep inside you knew that you don't belong to that organization.

If you are in this situation the advice of Thoreau is to "step into the music" indicating that you have to follow what your heart desires no matter what happens. This advice is sensible. Why stay in a certain situation if after all you're not happy and satisfied? Go to where your heart is leading you and you will be happy. Do not think about money because it is like a prison, it will only detain you in misery. Do the thing that you love, that is freedom. Stop pretending to be somebody that you are not. Instead be the kind of person that you always wanted to be. This is not going to be an easy decision since you will have to leave your comfort zone. But you'll have to take the risk because that is the price of success and happiness.

Why there are people who do not follow their dreams? Why they don't step into the music? They hear the different drummer however they kept on ignoring him, but why? I think the primary reason is because many of these people are afraid to take a chance. We cannot blame them they have families that need their support. Why should I leave my stable job with good salary for something that is not certain? This is the common argument that I hear from these people. Only few of them will admit that they do not have the courage to face their fears. This is what Henry David Thoreau called "lives of quiet desperation".

I forgot the title of the movie that I watched on HBO a long time ago. It is the story about a fat boy named Farley and his tough PE Coach. In one of their PE class the Coach instructed Farley to put him down to the floor. Farley tried so hard to subdue his coach but he couldn't do it. The coach was annoyed and he said "the only reason why I am still standing here is because you don't believe in yourself Farley". The second reason why people ignore the beat of the different drummer is because of procrastination. Procrastination is defined by Dictionary.Com as "the act or habit of putting off or delaying something requiring immediate attention". Truth be told, every person is guilty of procrastination at some point in their life. There are a thousand and one reasons why people procrastinate. I believe that the biggest reason behind procrastination is self-doubt. We want to do something different, something that is out of the box but we are not sure if we can do it. Like the fat boy Farley we want to subdue our fear but we can't do it because we don't believe in ourselves.

What is the purpose of trying, I don't have the talent or skill, so why bother? This is the third argument that people offer to justify their unwillingness. Now, let us first define the difference between talent and skill. Talent is a special natural ability; it is inborn, while skill is something that we learn; it is acquired knowledge. Either of these two will make you successful provided that you will use it properly. JK Rowling and Stephen King are talented and skilled writers there is no doubt about it but I am not. I don't have the talent in writing, but through practice and study I know that I can somehow obtain the skill of a true writer. I am confident that this acquire skill in writing if correctly applied will take me somewhere else.

The last reason why many people don't step into the music is because they listen to negative voices around them. It is sad that some of this negative voice comes from our friends, family members and love ones. "Who do you think you are?" "You don't have the right connections at the top." "It will not work out because you do not have the money." "Forget it you don't have the talent." "It is just a waste of time." I have heard some of these voices and it was not an easy thing for me to ignore them because it came from the people who were close to me. I was expecting for their support but it was the opposite that happened.

So what are you going to do now? Step into the music as advice and follow the beat of the drummer.

Live the kind of life that inspires you. You don't have to leave your day time job at once but don't procrastinate you should do the things that you enjoy the most. Do you like writing? By all means write to the satisfaction of your soul. Do not think about royalties and money or getting published in a magazine or newspaper just write for the sake of writing. This is what I am doing right now. I am writing because it inspires me.

Concentrate your energy where your strength is. If being weak in Mathematics has a rank believe me I am qualified for the rank of a general. I have many painful memories about this subject when I was still a student. My favorite subjects then were Social Study and Literature. I love reading and writing even when I was a student. My love for the written words leads me to where I am right now. My main job here in our security agency is writing. I write security reports, business letters, memorandums, security plan and perform other writing task. In my free time I write essays that I published at Writing.Com and sometimes I dabbled in poetry. I am currently building my portfolio as an essay writer.

Your comfort is your power. Are you comfortable in doing something that you really like? If your answer is yes, congratulations, it means that you have found your passion. If you can do the job with ease it means that you are in full control of the situation. You will be frustrated and isolated if you are not in control of the circumstances surrounding you. This is what I experienced when I joined the Call Center industry. I had a culture shocked since everything there was new to me. As a result of that misadventure I went back to the private security business where I am comfortable.

Sometimes you need to look back at the past to understand what your passion is. When I was in grade school I remember that I was the story teller in our classroom. My classmates would gather around me to hear my stories about giants, dwarfs, fairies, witches, beautiful princess, charming prince and other fairy tales. I learned all these stories from my cousin who is ten years older than me and I shared it with my classmates. In hindsight I can say that I am a reader I read almost all kinds of literature from comics, pocket books, novels, poem, short stories, essays and other literary works. Therefore, I am not really surprised when I heard the different drummer, guess what he told me? "Go and write".

Learn from the child because the mind of a child is the most creative force in the world. When it comes to imagination no one can beat a child. According to Albert Einstein "imagination is more important than knowledge". Imagination is the playground of the genius. Imagination is the production area of the mind. People failed not because of lack of knowledge what is lacking to them is the power of imagination. Your imagination will spark your creativity. Like a child who is not embarrassed on what he/she is doing your imagination will lead you to some strange decision or movements. Fear not because being different is what creativity is all about. An unorthodox approach is not always weird or bad, sometimes it is the spur for a dramatic change in style and fashion. Remember that John Lennon the radical and maverick song writer who revolutionized the music industry during his life time was also labeled as weird.

Finally, my advice is for you to study, study and study. Go back to school if can afford it if not I suggest you read more books related to your interest. You will harness the power of your imagination through study. Do not ignore the different drummer, listen to him. Follow the advice of Henry David Thoreau "step into the music however measured or far away".

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