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About this quote

What does it mean?
Even when people have the freedom to act individually, they tend to follow the behavior of others.
In plain terms
People often copy each other instead of doing their own thing.
What can you take from it?
Freedom does not guarantee unique behavior.

Where it applies

  • social gatherings
  • workplace culture
  • consumer choices

Putting it to work

  • observe peer behavior
  • challenge group norms

Questions to consider

  • Why do we feel compelled to fit in?
  • When have you acted against your own desire to blend in?

Another view

Not everyone imitates others; some individuals consistently resist conformity.

More from Eric Hoffer

  1. A fateful process is set in motion when the individual is released 'to the freedom of his own impotence' and left to justify his existence by his own efforts. …

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  2. Pride is a sense of worth derived from something that is not organically part of us, while self-esteem derives from the potentialities and achievements of the …

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  3. Every extreme attitude is a flight from the self.

    Permalink to quote #35

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