normal(cy)

Several years ago, I was in a raucous crowd at a UAB/Tulane basketball game. As a rabid UAB basketball fan, this was not abnormal for me. Also not-unlike me (at the time), I relished every opportunity to poke at, yell at, and throw verbal darts at the other team. On this particular night, it seemed too easy. A few minutes into the first half, I stared in disbelief at this:

That, dear reader, is (was) the mascot for Tulane. I literally could not believe my eyes when this 'thing' stepped out on the court, somehow in support of its team. Tulane's mascot? The Green Wave. "Seriously?" I asked my buddy. "A color and water? That is their statement to the world?"

After spending much time harping on the apparent (to me) stupidity of this choice of mascot, and after hurling many vocal assaults at the players and foam-thingy that was trying to move around the court, my buddy knocked me down with a simple revelation.

"You do realize," he stated, "the nickname of the team you grew up loving, your beloved University of Alabama, is the Crimson Tide. A comparable color, but certainly a less intimidating water event."

Sometimes we fail to realize that our personal "normal" is not universal. What seems common to you, what seems logical or obvious, can be the most foreign concept/Truth to others. Sometimes, we even fail to realize what we deem obvious or normal until someone (hopefully with love) points it out.

Save yourself the humiliation, and realize that your unique normal is just that: unique (though not at all normal). Don't assume that anyone, not your customers, colleagues, or companions, sees the world through your eyes. Yes, the singular specialness of you is to be celebrated; however, it is also to be viewed with caution.

If I stop to realize that your Green is my Crimson, and if you stop to realize that my Tide is your Wave, then maybe we can both learn something about normalcy (even if it is normalcy through the ludicrous). Bottom line: there is no normal, and we would be wise to realize it as unattainable.

Take a minute to rethink your assumptions, recalibrate your (leadership) compass, and toss out your idea of what is normal. No one really agrees with you.

shanti,
mjh