Originally published on Photoblog by Gethin Thomas MARCH. 02, 2021
[213-365] 2nd. March 2021- Ploughing your own furrow is an expression that means you do what is not expected.
Ploughing a furrow is clear. It means doing what is expected. It means doing the same as everyone else. It means predictability. It means going straight on, without thinking, mindlessly.
A furrow is meant to be in the right place, to be a straight line to follow the pattern, the next line exactly like it's neighbour.
Ploughing your own furrow though means almost the opposite. British, literary. : to do something that is different from what other people do.
Breaking the rules carries great risk but can also earn great reward. There is also the expression "Plough a lonely furrow" which seems to be a warning about ploughing your own furrow.
Ploughing your own furrow is seen as something admirable but has consequences. It stands to reason I suppose that if you do the opposite to everyone else you may expect to do it alone.
If on the other hand you like to follow someone else's furrow you may find the expected and you may find therefore that you are very definitely not alone. If you discover an easy life where there is food on offer at little cost by following someone else's furrow you may find there is a lot of competition for that food.
That feeding frenzy is soon over though.
