The quest for NORMALCY!

Are you normal? Is this normal? When will things be normal? ...Normal ...the most intriguing word in the English dictionary.

Few days ago, I happened to deliver a mental strenghtening program for one of the KPL teams in Bangalore. This team is coached by a former Indian international and is being captained by a former Indian International and a wily veteran at his job. Since the game format is new to all, the discussion revolved around being normal on field. To cut a long story short - the team lost miserably and what's worse, cricketing normalcy was defeated hands down! Post match discussions revolved around how the other team played abnormal cricket and how youngsters nowadays are defying normalcy!!! This was a laugh :)

But what is normal? Who defines normalcy for me? Is normalcy an individual trait or is it a group thing? What part does the society play in being normal? Is being normal a violation of my individuality? Let's explore these areas and see if we can get an idea of what this can be.

Normalcy, according to me, is what works for me without infringing or hurting anyone's private space or sensitivities and leads to my success.Now, success is relative - it can be money, position, happiness, relationships or even peace of mind - but to the fullest and not less. Now, anyone includes ME. So, for others to accept me as normal, I have to be normal with myself. If not then my behavior manifests my limitations and gets displayed openly. When this happens I leave my actions to evaluation by others, who then drive home the point of my actions beings abnormal.

Funny, that we stereotype people as normal or abnormal based on "how of their behavior" instead of digging in to "why they behave like that!"

The quest for normalcy is a creativity and individuality killer. It devoid s an individual from being themselves and forces to confirm to other peoples views most of the times. Whenever one doesn't confirm to societal norms then that person is labeled as an abnormal person.

Can this be overcome - This question is best answered with a simple idealistic question - Do i trust my purpose in life? Does this purpose enhance one's life and society or is detrimental? Once you have answers to these questions we will have a semblance of normalcy - that of being ourselves and not being a hindrance to anyone or anything else.

So, be normal - be yourself... Rajesh