Wave Goodbye to Normal. Be Unique

Everyone wants to be normal.” A quote that really stuck in my mind after the Tea Uglow Speaker Series at the adidas HQ. Normal. Such a simple word with so much room for interpretation. But, what does it mean and why do we even want to be normal?

According to Maslow’s pyramid of needs, the feeling of belongingness, aka the sense of connection, is a central human need. Which is why probably everyone wants to be normal, to be like most people. But I’ve been wondering: Does belonging necessarily mean for us to be the same?

Recalling my childhood and my first years in high school, I still remember the feeling of being somewhat different because of my Asian descent. As a young girl, still in puberty and struggling with the same problems as other teenage girls, all I wanted was to feel like I belonged. I wished to be like everyone else – normal, as I thought. I can still remember constantly asking myself why I didn’t look like everyone else. Why was I different? 

In sports this mindset is already widely adopted. People make their individual training plans, do different sports and train with different weights. After all, everybody works in their own way, hence there is no plan that fits all. Not everyone likes to do sports. That’s ok. Not everyone likes to run. That’s ok. Not everyone can train with 100lbs. That’s ok.

We do things the way we do, assuming it to be normal and sometimes we can even be defensive when someone suggests doing things differently. To be unique also means accepting the views of others (I would like to specifically exclude a racist and homophobic mindset from this statement). It doesn’t mean that you must like them, but you should respect them.

Now, let’s remember there is no singular definition for normal and we should most definitely not define it by our own doings. Don’t consider what you are doing as the standard and expect others to do the same.  

Instead of imposing on them what we personally consider to be normal, we should try to gain a deeper understanding of how others see things and allow them to be unique as well. Meet people with empathy and try to comprehend where their views and opinions come from.

Whether it is school, university, work, appearance, I’ve repeatedly experienced that comparing ourselves with other people seems just as natural as breathing. Every aspect in life can be compared to others and we do it too often.

Social media channels like Instagram only amplify this phenomenon. Ultimately, this can leave us with the feeling of never being good enough or envying something we will never have or be. Why do we even put ourselves in situations where we allow this kind of bad energy into our life? Better embrace the fact that we want different things in life and have individual strengths, weaknesses and needs, because life is not a competition.

In the end, I think we should aim to be unique instead of normal. Just imagine how boring life would be if everyone would have the same background, and also the same opinions and views on life. Sure, there would probably be less or no arguments or wars, but on the other hand also no innovations, creations or reinventions. We are so used to this life that we don’t even actually realize that life is diverse in so many facets and that this is what makes it so beautifully unique.