The Danger of Being Ahead of Your Time

Did Kanye West validate me this time?

Hey bestie, 

Missed me? I did too

Here’s a big hug for you!

Ok, enough of the mushy stuff.

I have something important I’d like us to discuss today.

So, I was on Threads the other day and an interesting video came up on my timeline. It was Ye in an interview talking about being a visionary. 

What he spoke about really stood out to me, he said;

“Sometimes, it’s not that I’m not right, sometimes I’m just not right now”

Click on the image to watch the video

Ye basically was talking about being ahead of his time ———A visionary.

So, you up to speed, let’s cook, shall we? (I swear Gen Z’s have me learning all these new terms)

To begin, humor me by answering these questions;

1. Have you ever felt like your ideas are too forward for where you currently are in life? 

2. Do you feel like no one around you gets your vision?

3. Do you feel like people around you get it months, scratch that years after you get it?

4. Do you feel unappreciated and unseen in your current environment?

If your answer to all four questions is positive,

Congratulations!

You are ahead of your time.

Let us rewind for a bit, shall we? Back to my childhood. 

Growing up with ultra-religious parents who were content with what they had. Content with the way things were and how they were.

Then, came me…

Crazy child, who asked annoying questions (no, seriously, they were annoying)

Always asking ‘WHY’

Defied them by saying no to religion altogether.

Kept asking questions they weren’t comfortable asking let alone, answering

Boy, was I a rogue! 

Fast forward to being an adult and entering the corporate world. It was heightened here if I'm being honest. I challenged the status quo.

Don’t get me wrong,  I do acknowledge that there are rules guiding the corporate body, but, as with my nature, I questioned a whole lot of things. 

Surprisingly, it mostly worked in my favor. 

As much as I was liked at work, I was also hated.

Trying to see what fits right or at least a little right. I just saw things differently that many people saw as ‘normal’, I introduced new ways of handling things…I was always on “Why can’t we change the way this is? Why can’t we try this, this way?”  

Gotta admit, it helped bring about changes in places I worked at (talk about being progressive huh?).

Back to right now…

When Ye, said sometimes, it’s not right now, I do agree with him. He likened his to business, by saying “You’d lose the audience”. But, let’s take it from a relationship perspective.

You do lose people when you are that visionary, they will find it difficult to understand you and you know when people do not understand you, they term you difficult or a rebel. 

Thinking about it, I believe visionaries face the rejects and sneers because humans are creatures of habit and are scared of change. Because, let’s face it, change can be a scary thing. 

So, you see, being a visionary, being ahead of your time, can be a good thing, but, it can be just as crazy (I wouldn’t say bad) as well. 

Lately, however, I have been noticing something. People who used to question my beliefs, who made me question myself now have the same notion I did years ago. Like Ye said. They may not get it because they can’t at this moment, but eventually, they will.

Happy? Can’t say I am not happy to see them catch on to what I was trying to tell them. But, I am not so happy.

You see, when I told these people these things, they tried to downplay all I said, made it seem like I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about like my ideas did not matter.

It’s bitter-sweet really. 

All these have sort of solidified my views on life. My life.

Now, I guess I get it. We all do not live on the same timeline. Sometimes, we gotta let people catch up to us, other times, we gotta catch up to others. Right? 

What do you think though? Do you think it can be bad to be ahead of your time? Is it a good thing or a bad thing for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.