Monsters Inc and Herd Mentality

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When you were growing up, did your mom ever say this classic “momism” to you? “If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?” The lesson that your mom (or dad, or teacher, or whoever) was trying to teach you was that just because everyone else is doing something, does not necessarily mean that it is a good thing to do. Following along with what everyone else does and believes is called “Herd Mentality”. To put it simply, Herd Mentality is when your beliefs, actions, and behaviors are influenced (or even determined) by all the people that surround you. To use the analogy offered in the name “Herd Mentality”, sometimes the “herd” knows where the best food to eat is, but also sometimes the herd may be walking its way right in to the slaughter house. Following the herd is sometimes good, but it is also sometimes bad. This is why we must determine to not just follow the crowd and be part of the herd but to actually be a critical thinker. It is harder to be a critical thinker, there is comfort and safety (for a time) in following the herd, but the herd is not always right.

“What does this have to do with Monsters Inc?” You begin to type furiously in the comment section. “I was expecting Mike and Sully!” You lament to yourself. Have no fear, Mike and Sully are here to rescue you. What does Monsters Inc have to do with the herd mentality? There is one belief in the Monsters Inc universe that drives much of what the monsters do. We see that whole factories are shut down because of this belief, we see that there is widespread panic because of this belief, and we see that college fraternities play games in the sewer because of this belief (college is weird). You know what that belief is: Children are toxic and everything that they touch is toxic. Of course, we have all seen the number 2319 at some random point in our lives (a receipt at a restaurant, a flight number, why do I always only come up with two examples?) and have yelled, “2319! We have a 2319!” as everyone looks at us as if we are loony. Just me? Awkward… Anyway, the belief that children are toxic and that everything they touch is toxic is a fundamental belief in their world. When Boo is making a “rampage” near the sushi restaurant, a professional on Monster News Network even says, “It is my professional opinion that now is the time to PANIC!” But get this, the professional was wrong. Much of the world was wrong about children being toxic. Think of all the embarrassing shavings that George Sanderson could have avoided if the world had simply known that children were not toxic. Roz would have been unemployed if the world would have known the truth that children were not toxic. Even at the beginning of the original Monsters Inc movie, Mike and Sully believe this lie about children being toxic, they only really stumble upon the truth. The great big beautiful point that I am trying to make here is that the world was wrong about this and it took Mike and Sully to use their thinking caps to figure out the truth.

I know that some of you reading this are teens who would do anything to impress your classmates and peers, I know that some of you are young adults like me and that you probably cherish the friendships that you have. But may I warn you that just because everyone believes something to be true does not make it true. We often get duped into thinking, “Hollywood has to be right about everything, look at the unified voice that they have” or “Everyone in my class is doing [fill in the blank] and no one has gotten hurt, it can’t be bad for you.” Beware!

So the question is, “How do you manage to follow the herd when it benefits you but avoid the herd when it is bad for you?” The answer is, Critical Thinking. Here are a few thoughts on breaking the cycle of Herd Mentality and being a Critical Thinker:

Find out what you stand for- If you have to ask yourself “What do I stand for?” and your answer is “most nights I don’t know anymore, oh whoa, oh whoa, whoa” (some of you will get that joke), then it is time to figure it out. What do you believe? What do you stand for? What is your “hill to die on”? But most importantly, why? Why do you believe what you believe? How did you come to that conclusion in your life? Why do you stand for that? That is going to require some good, hard soul-searching, but I promise you, it is really worth it.

Don’t be rude, but be critical- I am not telling you to “knit-pick” your friends actions and decisions to death. Don’t be an insufferable jerk about it, but keep mental notes. Understand that your friends are not always right (by the way, no one is! You aren’t. Don’t except people to be… different post for a different time…). So instead of just “going with the flow”; stop, think, and make a decision for yourself.

Don’t be scared of being different- I think the reason why many people do not think for themselves is because of fear. They fear being left out. The problem with not following the herd is that you are not part of the herd. Not being part of the herd makes you stand out, it makes you different, and to some people that is absolutely terrifying. But the truth is, it is better to be different and to be right than to be the same as everyone else and be wrong.

So, if your friends were to jump off a bridge would you? I hope the answer is no! Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!

Also, don’t forget to check out my new book to get even more life tips, Level Up!

Mr Toad and the Dangers of Impulsive Actions

“We’re going merrily on our way to nowhere in particular.”

The Mr. Toad feature was put together with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, to make Disney’s 11th feature “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” in 1949. From 1943 to 1949 Disney did not make feature length stories, but instead made what was called “package” movies, in which several different stories were lumped together to form a feature length motion picture. Most of the movies of this era have not stood the test of time, I fondly remember watching Fun and Fancy Free (1947) on VHS as a kid, but other than that, not many of these are remembered. The Three Caballeros, the most famous of this era, is still relatively unremembered. Ichabod and Mr Toad was the final film of this era before Disney went back to feature stories with Cinderella in 1950. Mr Toad did well in the box office and was publicly and critically acclaimed but has not stood the test of time. Truthfully, the only reason why many people know who Mr. Toad is goes back to the ride that was in Disneyland and Walt Disney World called “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride”. As of today, the ride is still operating in Disneyland, but was closed in Walt Disney World and replaced by “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” in 1998. It is sad to say that there are likely many Disney fans who do not know who Mr. Toad is, has never seen the movie, and have never rode on the ride.

Because of the relative obscurity of this movie, I want to be as clear as possible. Mr Toad is based off the book “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame. The premise of the movie is that Toad purchases a stolen motor car, without knowing it was stolen, by giving the weasels the deed to Toad Hall. The police catch Toad and arrest him for stealing a motor car. In court, the bartender who Toad bought the motor car from lies under oath and claims that Toad did, indeed, steal the car and was trying to sell it to him. Mr. Toad is thrown in jail. The rest of the movie is about Toad escaping from jail and claiming back Toad Hall with the help of his friends Rat and Mole. Of course, that is an oversimplified version of the story, I suggest anyone that has not seen it to buy it, it is money well spent. When I watch this movie though, I am infuriated by Mr. Toad. I can tell that they are trying to make him seem like, at least, a somewhat endearing character, but he is VERY flawed. Mr. Toad had a problem that McBadger explained by calling “manias”. Toad would get obsessed over things (riding with a horse and a gypsy cart and driving a motor car) to the point where he did not think rationally. When Toad was in the tavern, he saw this motor car and wanted to buy it, not having any money, he decided to give the deed to his house…let me stop there, his MANSION… in order to have this car. If Toad had stepped back for a moment and had thought this idea through, he would have quickly realized that this was not a very good idea. He would have said, “Well, thanks for the offer, fellas! But I can find a much cheaper motor car elsewhere!” if he had thought it through. What was the problem? Toad acted out of impulse.

The biggest mistake of Toad’s life could have been avoided if he had just thought before he acted. As I was preparing for this life lesson, I tried to find good quotes on the dangers of acting impulsively. I was shocked and dismayed how many people (particularly the “all-wise” movie stars) say that acting impulsively is a good thing. I am here to tell you today, no it is not! I have found in my life that the worst decisions I made I did when I did not think it through. I end up saying or doing things that will come back and bite me when I do not think through the longterm consequences or benefits from my action. There are some decisions in life that are worth winging or acting impulsively, for example, where to eat dinner tonight, paper of plastic, what movie should I get at the Redbox (answer: always a Disney movie!) but there are other decisions where we must proceed with caution and deliberation: who should I marry? How should I respond to this person’s behavior? What should I study in school? Should I make this large purchase? I have met people burdened down by the burden of making an impulsive financial or relational decision, and they wish that they could go back. Very often I counsel people, I have found that the biggest regrets that people have are over decisions that they either did not think through or did think through and went with the wrong decision anyway.

Going “merrily on your way to nowhere in particular” is an endearing behavior if you are simply going for a Sunday afternoon drive, but do not make that phrase your motto for life. Impulsiveness will lead to a train wreck (subtle reference to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, for those who rode it!)

The Bible says, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” What is the point? Do not make rash, impulsive decisions, especially over matters of great importance, or else you will find yourself later on down the road in a heap of trouble.

Check out my book, Level Up!