Friedrich Nietzsche: Be Not a Follower, but an Inquirer

"If you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then believe; if you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire."

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. In this book, within chapter called The Bestowing Virtue, Nietzsche wrote something surprising, eye opening, and thought provoking.Zarathustra, the central character of the book, is a sage. He tells his followers to stop following him. He says, “I now go alone, my disciples! You too go now, alone. Thus, I want it. I advise you: Depart from me, and guard yourselves against Zarathustra!”

Why would he tell his disciples to stop following him? Perhaps Nietzsche hoped to reveal the pitfalls and danger of simply being a follower, and of placing too much belief in someone or something, without asking questions.

Rather than following a path that someone else has laid out for us, or believing in something solely because it has always been done in a certain way, because it is what others believe, we must set out to find our own individual paths, and discover what we believe in for ourselves.

For example, if we imagine a student seeking knowledge and enlightenment. They meet a teacher, and the two engage in debate. At first, the student is open to debate, doubting much of what the teacher has to say. Soon, the student senses wisdom and knowledge within the teacher, and begins agreeing with the teacher more and more.

The student works with the teacher, absorbing the teacher’s knowledge. Eventually, the teacher realises that the student has stopped debating, and feels it is time for them to go on their separate paths.When they first met, the student and teacher had many things to teach one another. They grew together and learned from one another. The student’s mind was inquisitive. But now, the student believes everything the teacher says. The student has gone from an inquirer to a believer, a follower.The student protests. They came seeking the truth, and they believe to have found it within the teacher. But it is vital to remember that we cannot let anyone decide our beliefs, or chart our paths for us. We must do that for ourselves.

If we remain as followers we will live according to someone else’s map, someone else’s chosen path, and we will never learn to create our own.? We must learn to navigate on our own, so that we can come together as individuals, compare our maps, collaborate, and help one another.

Another quote from Zarathustra reads: “One repays a teacher badly if one always remains nothing but a pupil.” This reveals the importance of continual learning, as well as the importance of choosing for ourselves what to do with the knowledge we have been taught.

To remain only as a pupil is to believe what we are taught is the absolute truth. Perhaps this is why we so often stop asking questions, because we believe we already know what we need to. We must trust ourselves and our unique perspectives and create a path that works for us as individuals.

Growth is limitless, if only we allow it to be. Learning is endless, and so, we must always stay inquisitive and ask questions so that our paths never stagnate but continue to grow as we do.

In a letter to his sister, Nietzsche once wrote If you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then believe; if you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire. This way of thinking mirrors the entrepreneurial spirit, as entrepreneurs often take their ideas in unexpected directions. They inquire, dare to do things differently and they chart their own path forward, based on their own beliefs and values.?The world is always changing, as is the industry. Thus, we need to be inquisitive in order to keep up with, understand, influence, and create the changes we wish to see.

With this in mind, how can we integrate such a mindset into our lives and our work? What can businesses to do give team members the permission and freedom to find their own paths? How can we aid new emerging talent to not simply remain as followers, or pupils, but become to become inquirers in their own right???

Written by Katie Wilson, EP Business in Hospitality