Strange is Good?

We all have some pressure to fit in. There’s nothing wrong with fitting in and having a community in which you feel a strong connection. However, sometimes life needs to be stretched just a bit farther outside of the boundaries if things start to feel a bit mundane and uninspiring.

Kids are naturally “weird.” They do what they want, make silly noises, pretend, and imagine things that are unusual. While there is process of maturity that helps us in growing, social conditioning sometimes inhibits genuine creativity that may be associated with childishness. I’d like to argue that we’re all a bit “weird” in the traditional sense, but it’s actually just an expression of natural uniqueness. It’s a paradox a member of society to think that he or she is special and unique but feels it’s necessary to stifle his or her natural creativity and thoughts in order to fit in and be cool.

There are people that won’t agree with your creativity. Perhaps they are just too Type-A to understand or they simply just have a different way of looking at things. Either way, those people aren’t the ultimate judge on what’s worthwhile and what’s a waste. The Type-A is usually the person who takes the safest job, lives the safest life, and feels totally comfortable in a life without risk, adventure, or creativity. It’s not that type-A people are wrong by any means. It’s just a different lifestyle in which the standards and measurements for success, fun, and lifestyle are on a different spectrum.

Life isn’t a competition in which we try to convince ourselves that we’re better than others or that people simply don’t understand us. It should be a collaboration with others in order to function efficiently. When I get upset with someone with a bad attitude, the best thing I can do is to simply move on without my emotions going haywire and understand it’s nothing personal - even if it appears personal. People always get what they put into the world. It isn’t our position to “put people in their places” when they bother us. Life has a way of naturally giving people what they deserve at some point or another and if they don’t learn, they then reap the consequences, and we can only hope they do next time.

This isn’t to say that being passive is always appropriate. Sometimes we need to let people know that they’ve gone to far or are offending us. However, it’s best to do so when our emotions are under control and we can see the situation without anger and negativity fuming from the energy we put out. If you’re better at figuring things our introspectively, then it’s better to take the time to collect your thoughts. However, address the issue before anger or bitterness take root. Allow yourself to be unique - some of the most successful geniuses have done so – or perhaps they weren’t geniuses at all, but just an adult who didn’t let their imagination and uniqueness die.

For further related reading, please check out: Even Good Change is Hard.