Love The Fact You're Different
I was watching a movie called The Giver the other day. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone but in summary it’s an interesting look at what it would mean if we were all the same, if we didn’t feel emotion; a world where we lacked the very fibre of what made us who we are, where conformity was the only way and individuality didn’t exist. I really enjoyed it, not just because it stars Jeff Bridges (who I’m a bit of a fan of) but because it’s about the importance of who we are as humans - and that topic, for those of you who know me or who read Humatters, is something I’m very passionate about. Once upon a time...
Being different is something that’s normally knocked out of us when we’re younger. We’re brought up to act in a way that society deems acceptable. There are certain ways of doing things. From how we treat each other to how we behave in public. This base-line behaviour helps to fuel our future growth. We start to change, to properly get a grasp of how it all works and how we can fit in to this system.
It’s when we start school that this learning process starts to shift gears. Everyone starts to find their place, the group they fit into and how things will generally be for the next few years. With everyone seemingly taking up their positions, the kids that stand out are generally picked on. I should know - I was bullied at school; not hugely, but enough that I remember it. It was mainly because I wasn't perceived to be cool - I was different from those that were and therefore deemed to not fit in. Because it’s safer to stay in the pack; if you look the same as everyone else, then no one has any cause to focus their attention on you. It’s that understanding, that basic human instinct of wanting to fit in, that stays with us all the way into our business lives. Why? It makes us feel safe.
I was watching a movie called The Giver the other day. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone but in summary it’s an interesting look at what it would mean if we were all the same, if we didn’t feel emotion; a world where we lacked the very fibre of what made us who we are, where conformity was the only way and individuality didn’t exist. I really enjoyed it, not just because it stars Jeff Bridges (who I’m a bit of a fan of) but because it’s about the importance of who we are as humans - and that topic, for those of you who know me or who read Humatters, is something I’m very passionate about. Once upon a time...
Being different is something that’s normally knocked out of us when we’re younger. We’re brought up to act in a way that society deems acceptable. There are certain ways of doing things. From how we treat each other to how we behave in public. This base-line behaviour helps to fuel our future growth. We start to change, to properly get a grasp of how it all works and how we can fit in to this system.
It’s when we start school that this learning process starts to shift gears. Everyone starts to find their place, the group they fit into and how things will generally be for the next few years. With everyone seemingly taking up their positions, the kids that stand out are generally picked on. I should know - I was bullied at school; not hugely, but enough that I remember it. It was mainly because I wasn't perceived to be cool - I was different from those that were and therefore deemed to not fit in. Because it’s safer to stay in the pack; if you look the same as everyone else, then no one has any cause to focus their attention on you. It’s that understanding, that basic human instinct of wanting to fit in, that stays with us all the way into our business lives. Why? It makes us feel safe.