Hands Up for Panic Buying

Come on, hands up! Who queued up for petrol over the past week like a lemming?

Did you pack sandwiches and make it an outing, or sit fuming at the inconvenience?

Maybe, like me, you saw that the gauge on your dashboard was just under half a tank, saw the queues building, the updates on facebook, and after passing three garages resembling a car park, decided to seek fuel and fill up so you could relax for the next week. Some of you (you know who you are) drove around on faith and fumes, ignoring the amber light on the dashboard, laughing in the bored faces of those of us that succumbed to the flash mob fuel queue. And some of you (I don't know who you are) were so desperate you stole fuel from others.

All of this because we believed there was a possibility of a lack of fuel. The reality was there was plenty. It was only our belief that fuelled the lack of fuel. Look at the Northern Rock story. The belief that there was a lack of money, caused a panic, and the fear manifested into a very real lack of money and the downfall of a bank.

The point is, when we believe there is a potential lack, we all behave in different and strange ways. A collective belief is the most powerful entity. Wars have been started and won, lives lost, and lives saved, people's lives changed and others destroyed.

So how might someone behave if they believe they have a lack of love or weren't good enough? What would they most likely be creating in their lives?