You're Weird

I learnt the / a response to, "You're weird" from one of my daughter's mates, "Thank you" she replied when it was said to her one time. "Oh, she always says that", my daughter told me … how cool!

None of us are average. None of us are typical. None of us are the same as anyone else.

Remember, you're all individuals ("I'm not."), and astounding.

How's this for a weird statistical fact, you have an above average number of legs.

Yes, YOU, very likely have an above average number of legs. So, the maths goes like this:

• There are 8.3 billion people in the world
• The human form is designed to have 2 legs
• That's a potential total of 16.6 billion legs in the world
• However, due to many factors some people don't have 2 legs (around 1 in 1,000)
• That's around 8.3 million people that unfortunately have less than two legs
• The number of people that have more than two legs is not zero but it is extremely small and won't affect our rough calculations
• Ok, 16.6 billion potential legs minus 8.3 million is 16,591,700,000
• And that number of legs divided by the number of people in the world is 1.999 legs per person
• You I suspect, have 2 legs, an above average number of legs

You're weird!

You, me, all of us, are also deeply social animals whose brains and bodies are hardwired to thrive on social connection. Isolation disrupts this biological necessity, causing significant mental and physical distress, including high stress levels, increased risk of anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality. We die when we are not connected to our community, and our community is all made up of averages, norms, and baselines.

• Who is the average Kiwi?
• What makes up a typical Australian?
• What is it to be Welsh?

Being weird, as each and everyone of us cannot help but be, is in tension with fitting in and being a part of the herd. Some of us relax into it and let go as much of the weird as we can, losing a lot of ourselves in the process. Others take their weird and hold it aloft and fight the herd, often causing themselves more angst than they need.

We can allow our weird to show, let it bash against the boundaries now and again, and relax with some parts of the herd. I love the Spice Girls as well as Deep Purple, some find that weird for a 59 year-old man of a certain vintage and background, meh. But I also love rugby, that is almost expected of me, also meh.

Enjoy your weird, but don't kill yourself over it UNLESS someone tries to deny your weird, then let them see just how much that weird means to you with all it's energy.

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