I first came across the phrase “drinking the Kool-Aid” when I worked at a car dealership in late 2009.
It was the only job I’ve ever been fired from. Surprisingly, it was for *not* drinking the Kool-aid.
What it means, in essence, is that there’s a process or a belief system in place that a group or organization is expected to live by. It dates back to the Jonestown Massacre where 900 or so people committed suicide by drinking a laced punch. (Yikes).
Two thoughts on the matter. One of my greatest fears is that I’m drinking my own kool-aid at any given time. What limiting beliefs are at play when I’m trying to make a decision or attempt something I’ve never done before?
Second, that we should frequently look at what kool-aid we might be drinking at any given time. Just look at the Oscar’s from last night. How many different news outlets published an article about how La La Land was going to win best picture for x, y, and z reasons. Moonlight proved them wrong.
How many people believe that an all-black cast of women can’t open or do well at the box office? Again – Hidden Figures.
If we’re drinking our own kool-aid we may not be poisoning ourselves literally, but we are preventing ourselves from being open to new experiences, new ideas, and truths that we once thought were false.
Don’t drink the kool-aid.