In Defense of Normal
We celebrate uniqueness, but our fixation on individuality can hold us back
We underrate the value of normal.
We think normal means dull, average, or mediocre. Normal is unimaginative. Normal is being like everybody else.
Ads promise to save us from the tragedy of being normal. “Don’t be like them,” they say. “Be like you.”
At school and in our careers, we work hard to distinguish ourselves. We strive to be star performers and standouts. We want to get the part, land the promotion, fulfill our destinies. To separate from the normal pack.
But a strange thing happens in life. The further we go, the more welcome normal becomes.
For many it starts with having a family. When our lives are changed by the unknown of new life, normal becomes what we want most. A normal pregnancy. Normal child development. Family challenges that fall within the bounds of normal.
Normal means safety. Normal means others have been here before. Normal means we’re not the only one.
A sense of normal isn’t just helpful for normal things. It’s helpful for abnormal things, too.
The two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro spent seven long years writing his first book, The Power…
