If You Never Leave, the Abnormal Seems Normal

When the abnormal seems normal.

Back when I used to take care of patients, I often took a moment to explain to them the difference between common and normal. The two are easily confused. It’s common to have back pain, but it’s not normal. It’s common to take pain relieving medicine to get through the day, but it’s not normal.

I grew up in a family that yelled a lot. Yelling and angry outbursts were so common that they felt normal. It felt normal until I was in relationships with families that didn’t yell. That felt weird for me. What was wrong with these people who didn’t yell? Yelling in my family was common, but it wasn’t normal.

Here in Florida, knowing people who have died from COVID is so common, it seems normal. I’m not from Florida, so the disregard for COVID never felt normal to me, but just observe how half the residents act, and you’ll discover it feels normal to them. Recently I spent a month in Massachusetts and it opened my eyes to just how abnormal things are here in Florida.

“I don’t know anyone who’s died of COVID except for all the people in FL you’ve told me about.”

That’s a quote from a lovely coffee date with a friend while I was up north.

You don’t have to stay away, but if you never step out of your familiar, you lose perspective.

A stale perspective is never healthy. Whether you feel your life sucks and is stuck, or you feel like you’re on top of the world, you gotta occasionally leave. Get out. Go somewhere different. See things from another angle.

Get outside of your familiar to see how things could be different. Look in from the outside to see something you thought was normal, but it’s really not.

See that not everyone has the same experiences or privileges.
See that not everyone believes the same beliefs.
See that other things are possible.
See that what’s easy for you is hard for others and what’s easy for others is hard for you.
See that there are countless options.
See that anything is possible.

When life’s not flowing for you, examine what’s “normal”.

What’s everyone doing, so you do it too? What’s such an ingrained part of your life that you don’t think twice about doing it?

Alcohol or drugs?
Fighting with your partner?
Mindless snacking?
Ignoring your body’s need for rest?
Gossiping?
Snoozing your alarm over and over again?
Lying?
Believing stereotypes?

The world is large, but we are tiny.

What each one of us sees and experiences is a miniscule portion of what’s out there. Barely even a microcosm.

Step outside of your boundaries. Challenge your concept of normal and see what’s gloriously possible.

You deserve genuine and lifelong happiness, the type of happiness that can’t be taken away from you no matter what sort of craziness is happening in the world. Read my book, Happy Ever After. We can all use that right now.