Herd (n)  gathering of animals, especially hoofed, that live, feed and/or migrate together; large group of same animals maintained as livestock.

Heard (v)  past tense of hear; having listened to a sound or having been informed.

I love herds!  Herd of elk, herd of cows, herd of horses, herd of elephants, herd of gazelles – how can you not love a mass of hoofed animals mingling and hanging out together?  As an animal lover, it makes me happy when I come across such a classic group.  We even drive to a nearby area to see if the elk are out.  If we’re lucky, the herd will be hanging in the field, grazing while enjoying the quiet of the evening.  It is a stunning sight! 

The herd mentality – behaving as others in a group rather than acting independently as an individual – isn’t as favorable of a sight. There are those who will join the momentum of a movement because of what they heard.  It’s easy to fall into a routine of accepting things as initially heard.  Do you have listening ears discerning things or do you have lazy ears that follow the herd?  In today’s world, everyone is an expert.  You can find information to support the most outlandish theories, if you’re looking for it.  This is where our own filters come into play.  Substantiate what you’ve heard by choosing resources wisely, verifying credentials of sources and trusting your intuition.

We tend to forget that we can control what we hear and we have the ability to limit our listening.  If you find yourself fearful, wary or plagued by anxiety, perhaps it’s time to take account of what you have been listening to.  Are you tuning into news programs, podcasts or social media snippets that are bombarding your brain with negativity?  I agree there is value in being informed. Recently, I learned that a local, public figure had been fired from a position.  It automatically made me jump to conclusions – being fired sounds like a severe and permanent action.  In verifying, what I first heard, I discovered that the individual had been amicably placed into a another position within the same organization – definitely a different spin on the story.  It reminded me to always hear with listening ears and when in doubt, check it out.

Kicking off a fresh new year is a great springboard to fine tuning our listening practices. Think twice about joining the herd based on what you heard!