WE'RE NOT NORMAL!

Have you ever felt like you’re a little misunderstood? Maybe you think about or see the world differently or your ideas and ways of expressing them are sometimes lost on the people around you? Or you feel like perhaps, you’re just not ‘normal’? Well… I’m here to tell you that I feel all of them but I’m trying my very best to embrace it because I’ve realised that I’m definitely not normal and neither are you!

A very close friend of mine recently told me that she didn’t think that I was ‘normal’! I smiled and said ‘Thanks!’ but I don’t think she quite meant it as a compliment. But, I get that a lot these days especially now I’m trying to actively explore my art, my ideas and express my feelings more openly through Creative Nowhere Land. But I’m OK with it! Let’s face it, what’s normal anyway?

WHAT’S ‘NORMAL’ ANYWAY?

Look up the definition of normal in the dictionary and you get words like ‘standard, usual, typical, same, average, expected and conforming’. Terrifying words for any creative.

Society has always pushed us towards ‘normal’! It was an evolutionary disadvantage in the past to stand out from the crowd. ‘Normal’ was just safer! I get it! ‘Don’t stray too far from the safety of the herd’ and all that. But even now, in the 21st century, away from the fear of being eaten by sabre tooth tigers etc, we’re still encouraged to fit in and conform from a young age. Discouraged to think outside of the box especially at school. Not to question authority but to try and memorise the things they tell you to and pass the right tests in order to become an ‘efficient’ and ‘effective’ member of society. Just conform and be normal and you will go far!?

BUT WE’RE NOT NORMAL!

There are roughly 7.8 billion people on this planet and there’s only one of me and one of you! So how can we ever be called ‘normal’? And why would we want to be! You’re the only person on the planet that has had your exact life experiences and I’m the only person who has experienced what I have, and these are the things that make us unique and weird in some way or another from those other 7.8 billion other people on the planet.

BE UNAPOLOGETICALLY YOU!

Society has its major pressures but only you can define your normal. What’s normal for you might be crazy to someone else. But embracing what makes you, you is the most important thing. We can’t live by someone else’s idea of how our lives should be. Whether that’s parents, partners, friends, whoever. It’s your life and you don’t want to regret not living it the way you want to and being ‘unapologetically you’! But, it’s not easy! i know I constantly struggle with it. It takes a lot of courage sometimes to be that open and honest with yourself, let alone anyone else you choose to share that with.

I think that’s why I’d hit a bit of a wall creatively recently. I’d had some setbacks with my confidence as an artist after some criticism and then got thoroughly bogged down with the day job, commercial work and bringing other peoples ideas to life. I decided I needed to do something as I felt uninspired and hadn’t been creating any of my own work for a while. So I went to the king of being ‘unapologetically you’, Chase Jarvis and re-read his book ‘Creative Calling: Establish a Daily Practice, Infuse Your World with Meaning, and Succeed in Work + Life’ in the search of some of that elusive inspiration.

Chase Jarvis is a photographer, author, podcast host and founder of Creative Live (www.creativelive.com) and all-around inspiring dude. Among a lot of other things in the book, Chase talks about the idea of being ‘unapologetically you’ and embracing your weirdness and triumphing in not being ‘normal’. About creating consistently and expressing your ideas in as many ways as you want to. He also explains how you or your work might be misunderstood or there might be criticisms but to be happy to be misunderstood as long as you are being you.

The book is great! So helpful! It’s a practical and inspiring guide to help you bring your ideas to life and is well worth a blog post all of its own. I can’t recommend it highly enough if you’re feeling a little stuck in your creative process. You can click on the link or the book to check it out.

The other thing that Chase believes is that being ‘unapologetically you’ can inspire others to do the same. When I read it I was instantly reminded of this scene from ‘Coach Carter’. I’m a sucker for a motivational speech! If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it but, if an underdog sports movie isn’t your thing just watch the clip below and listen to the words about ‘Our deepest fear!’

‘As we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same!’ Powerful right?

I love this idea and I’m a big believer in trying to inspire others as much as I can. Especially other creatives as I know how hard it can be to pursue your passion. It’s one of the reasons I started Creative Nowhere Land. By documenting the journey I’m on, hopefully, it might inspire others to go on their own.

I won’t go on too much more but I just wanted to share with you that I understand it’s not easy, I struggle all the time with creating consistently when life gets in the way but I’m going to be better moving forward and keep going and I hope you do the same because you never know who you might be inspired as you do.

You’re weird might be someone else’s wonderful! Until next time keep exploring, inspiring and creating!