by Ritvik Shekar

Throughout human history, we have witnessed individuals driven by a relentless passion, as they trail-blaze towards a brighter future. Traditionally, we would label them as outcasts due to their inability to conform to society’s structure. However, in today’s world, we have grown more appreciative of their unconventional nature, with there even being people who covet such brands of thinking, thus changing their label from outcasts to visionaries.

While it is true that social norms and conventional wisdom foster a functional society, if everyone were to be confined by these boundaries, innovation would be near impossible. Visionaries challenge the status quo by defying the “normal” way of thinking, and setting ambitious goals instead. Take the famous astronomer, Galileo, for example. Galileo publicly challenged the prevailing idea of geocentrism with the heliocentric model instead. Such a challenge was in  outright defiance against the Catholic Church, upsetting a supposed universal truth, and going completely against the conventional way of thinking at the time. The result of such defiance is that now the world unequivocally accepts the heliocentric model, and even considers Galileo to be the founding father of modern astronomy. 

Visionaries not only possess this brand of thinking, but the courage and confidence to execute their ideas as well. This combination has allowed the visionaries of the past and present to inspire solutions to problems, sometimes, that we didn’t even know existed.

For instance, when Nikola Tesla invented the Alternating Current system, it was because he chose to not remain satisfied with the prevalent and effective DC current at the time. Hence, instead of doing nothing, he pushed the limits of what was possible, and now thanks to him, AC is the most preferred current system for households, offices, equipment and more. It is because of such people that society is forced to confront alternate ways of thinking, and adapt them, while adapting to them.

Another noticeable quality among such people is their eccentricity. Many consider such a characteristic to be unpleasing and bizarre, but it is because of this eccentricity that visionaries can bridge the gap between imagination and reality. Their dreams and visions for what society could be directly translate into their actions, and their unconventional approach leads to groundbreaking results. Elon Musk for example, who is possibly the greatest innovator of today’s day and age, is undeniably an eccentric individual. However, this eccentricity led him to pioneer the space exploration industry, propel the adoption of electric cars, and he is far from done yet. Only with people so devoted to their passion and dreams can you achieve such once unimaginable feats. This mindset is what distinguishes the average person from a visionary.

However,  unconventional, out-of-the-box thinking has quickly caught on, with societies all around the world embracing the culture of change and innovation rather than attempting to suppress it. Cultivating such a culture is more important now than ever with looming crises and problems threatening the planet, such as the global warming. It is vital that the world embraces the style of visionary thinking that can lead us to a more sustainable and prosperous future.