Average, typical, regular, expected, ordinary, conventional, normal.
The topic of “normal” seems to keep coming up in my life and mind these days and I thought it was important to remind everyone that there is no normal.
Normal (adjective): conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.
Everyone has their own normal, and everyone’s normal changes as their life changes.
Growing up, it was normal that my parents were married, that I could bike over to my friends’ houses, that I learned how to swim or played soccer after school, that it snowed in the winter, that we went on vacations, or that I had to make my bed before school.
Were those normal for you? Maybe some, maybe none. There are normals that relate to our society and to our culture that are so different from even a town 5 hours away, or a country across the ocean. Each culture, city, family and person has their own view of normal and it’s so important that we don’t expect other people to experience life the same way that we do, and to think in the same way that we do.
The world is an amazing place because there is no normal. So stop comparing your body, your looks, your sex life, your career, your home or anything else about yourself to others. We all have our own past, our own present and our own future and comparison and judgement only bring people down.
Focus on being the best you and helping others to do the same and I guarantee you’ll be a little happier and little more relaxed.
Do you find yourself comparing yourself to others too often?
What’s one thing you could work on with comparison?