The Normal Box

Normal. It’s not a bad word. And most days I’m grateful for normalcy. A normal day. A normal routine. Life as normal. I looked up the etymology (fancy word, I know) of the word ‘normal’. It comes from Latin origin meaning “in conformity with rule” and “from a carpenter’s square” — think ‘normal angle.’ It’s like a cookie cutter — when used appropriately, all cookies look the same! Normal isn’t bad. But … normal conforms. It puts us in a box. Normal isn’t for human beings — its origins did not describe people, but rather objects and angles. We aren’t made for boxes.

I wonder if you feel like I feel … there’s a disconnect with normal that doesn’t quite satisfy. It’s not bad … but it’s also not what I’m made for! We are made to grow, to change, to be uniquely the person we’ve been created to be. It will always be miraculous to me that no two people in the entire universe are the same. You are not normal — not even close. Therefore, the lives that we build certainly shouldn’t be ‘normal.’ If we believe we aren’t normal (and we fundamentally aren’t normal), then what flows out should break the normal mold. I fear that comparison, fear, scarcity and the demands of this world have tricked us into thinking that normal is better than being unique; normal is better than stepping out in change; normal is better than tearing down the walls of those boxes that hold us in.

Let me be really clear — normal isn’t working because it was never meant to work for you! We are called to more. We are called out of the box of normal to embrace the uniqueness in every fiber of our beings. There will never be another you on this earth, so YOU should walk boldly, confidently, and purposefully so far out of the normal box that people notice you are different. The world needs you to be you. We don’t need you to be normal — that’s boring. We need YOU.

How can you take a small step outside of normal today, embracing more of who you’ve been uniquely wired to be? Are there lies that tell you not to step outside the box? (Others’ expectations of you? Fear of change? Lack of confidence?) The lies don’t have a place next to the light of who you’re called to be. Go change the world — break out of the normal box and shine. And I’m here to cheer you on and walk alongside you every step of the way!