I am the Norm

Well, actually, only in name. As you might imagine, “I am the Norm” gets considerable play around our house, with exaggerated pomp on my side and theatrical eye-rolling on Karen’s. Those who know me well would side with Karen.

The truth of the matter is that I am not the norm. But nor are you. You and I are but two in eight billion, of whom no two are exactly alike. Not even you and I, for which you should be quite grateful.

Short of cloning, there is no way that two people on the planet could be exactly the same, and even in that case, their life experiences would be, by dint alone of the cloning, different.

Each of us needs not only to acknowledge that we are unique, but we need to celebrate it. To admit that you possess innate talents and giftings unique in the world may sound immodest, but in fact it is true. That you should capitalize upon them is also true, partly for your own benefit, but even more so for those around you. They need you and your giftings.

Of course, some of our attributes are more pleasant and useful than others, so it’s up to us to weed our gardens. But that’s the topic of another Briefing.

In addition to our innate giftings, we diverge further from one another by virtue of our experiences, some of which enhance our giftings, some of which damage them. The result is more in our hands than those of outsiders. If we determine to overcome and be a better person than we were yesterday, we will, and if we accept to sit in the corner and suck our thumbs, well, we lose. And so does everyone else.

Further, in addition to our birth giftings and our life experience, we each become more unique because of training, both formal and informal. It may be as large as ten years of medical training, or as small as learning to tie our shoelaces. No matter, each time we are shown how to do something, or do something better, we add to our inventory of unique giftings.

You might think that if you received the same training as someone else, you were affected in the same way, but that’s not the case. Thirty-six of us sat in Professor Hayek’s Contracts lectures, and each of us walked away with a different appreciation of the meaning and interpretation of agreements, simply because each of us saw the material through a different lens.

So there you have it. You are not the norm, nor am I. But it doesn’t end there- the bigger question is what you do with your unique giftedness. You can spend your life hiding under the bed, or you can serve your fellow man by exercising your uniqueness.

As a realtor, engineer, bus driver, doctor, teacher, or mom, you have a giftedness that nobody else possesses, a giftedness that is in your hands to bless those around you and make their lives better and richer. Or you can just grump your way into work every day and be the office Eeyore.

Many have never given much thought to their own unique giftings, nor have they had the courage to ask their close circle of friends and family. It’s only when you understand and acknowledge where you excel that you can become excellent.

So there you have it. I’m not the norm, you’re not the norm, and the world is better for it.
And I’d love to follow up with you or your group!