Improving Ourselves: There’s No Such Thing as Normal

What does it mean to be “normal”?

We’ve been thinking about this a lot recently – some of that spurred by walking on crowded city streets, where we can see thousands of people in a few minutes and every single one of them is different from the other. But there’s a more important facet of that realization – not only is every single person in the world different from the other, but this also forces the truth that there is no such thing as “normal” when it comes to humans.

We all spend so much time and effort and money in our lives to try to appear that we “fit in” – but if we are all truly unique and different, then it’s important to realize that there is no “standard” that we can ever fit all human beings into. Realizing this is something we struggle with all the time – we change our appearance, change our belongings, change our attitudes, all in a quest to be like others.

There’s an interesting read from Sara Fabian over on Tiny Buddha – There’s No Such Thing As Normal (and Other Lessons From Living Abroad). Sara talks a lot about the different cultural norms she experienced while living overseas – and how her reactions to those forced her to evaluate some of her prejudices. The key thing she learned, it seems, is that even if another person’s behavior doesn’t fit her idea of “normal” that doesn’t make it “wrong”.

We can apply this thinking to our interactions with other humans, but more importantly we can use it to change how we think about ourselves. If there is no “normal” that we should be trying to fit ourselves into, aren’t there much better things we can be doing for ourselves and for others with all that time and effort?

Recent scientific studies have even taken this to a deeper level, to ask the question – is there a “normal” way to think? It turns out, as published by Science News – When it comes to our brains, there’s no such thing as normal.

We’ve all had that “crazy” aunt or uncle or friend – who everybody looked up to, because they were different and proud of it. They were comfortable enough in their own skins that they would do and say what they wanted – and the rest of the world could either come along for the ride, or be left behind.

So if we can break ourselves from the idea that there are “normal” ways that we should think, and act, and behave – it can be a good thing for both us and the world around us. Isn’t it better to be remembered as that person who stood out, than to be remembered as the one who blended in?

part of a continuing series on Improving Ourselves