Normal: the most pervasive human disease
Transcript from a video by Kyle Cease (I think? - literally just bumped into it in my notes app - stored there 2 years ago come May 🙃 - am pairing it here with one of my favorite Seuss quotes)
"Underneath your business casual attire, you’re all just a bunch of naked weirdos.
A lot of our unique weirdness is exactly what we were shamed the most for when we were children
Definitely my childhood. I looked at how I was weird and was like “wow this is a terrible curse” I actually experienced pain for my uniqueness.
It’s human nature. Like “ow that hurt”
I expressed my weirdness, I got rejected, I will not do that again.
So we posture ourselves away from rejection towards, what? Approval. So what do you have to do to get someone’s approval? Please them.
What do you have to do to please a person? Typically, act like them.
The most pervasive disease that afflicts humanity is the disease of being normal.
I don’t think anybody’s ever achieved an extraordinary life in terms of quality and success by excelling at normalcy.
Think of someone who you really admire. Might be a celebrity, might be someone in your personal life.
Doesn’t matter, just think of someone who you really admire. I almost can guarantee you there is something weird about this person or else you wouldn’t have ever noticed them, and therefore you wouldn’t be admiring them.
What I used to call a curse I’m like “wow this is actually a beautiful gift.” It’s a shift of perspective. In order to express your inner genius that is your weirdness, I do believe you have to be willing to risk uncertainty and vulnerability.
It has to be a challenge to be expressed. It has to be a challenge to find it or else it won’t have meaning.
I dream of a world where we can express yourself, experience yourself, and embody the unique creativity of your own being.
It might just seem that expressing weirdness in your life could be the worst thing you could ever do, and it might be, but what if it’s one of the best things you could ever do for yourself?"
PS. as I read through this, there's one sentence that I fully disagree with. Added my thoughts in the first comment <3