Breaking the Norms

The dictionary defines norm as "something that is usual, typical or standard."

In other words, it is the expected, the protocol, and what you are used to hearing, seeing or doing.

Simply put, it is second nature; the right thing to do in most cases, and no one will blame you for following the normal process. It is often safe, but sometimes, almost too safe with little to no room for experimental outcomes or risk taking.

The problem with following the norm is that it produces the standard result. There is nothing extraordinary about it. In other words, because your practice is the typical (what everyone else is doing), your harvest is also the typical and the expected result. There are no surprises. This article is intended for individuals who are ready to break the many standard imposed life standards.

I love bible stories and the many parables and examples from Jesus' ministry while on earth. The book of Luke chapter 5 verses 17 through 19 tells the story of a sick man who needed healing. His family learnt that Jesus was visiting a particular house but they could not get access to the Lord Jesus because of the multitude of people. His family was so desperate for his healing that they had to break the roof top of a house they did not own so they could drop the man at the feet Jesus from the roof (the book of Mark chapter 2 verse 4 explicitly mentions that the roof was broken). In this case, they got the attention they needed because Jesus was impressed by the fact that they went out of their way to express their faith. You can imagine that the individuals who were not desperate enough to break the roof top or windows may have returned to their homes with their problems. This story is really about faith and is used here to illustrate that sometimes one need to step out of old habits.

There are several norms that you may be hanging on to that have severely hampered your progress. In this time and age, Jesus is not physically hanging out in anybody's house so you don't have to worry about breaking roof tops. Your own hinderance might be over reliance on raw intelligence. Haven't you seen some of your classmates who were average students and probably never aced any course yet you find them a few years later doing very well in their business and you wonder what you are doing wrong? You are not doing anything wrong. You are simply following the normal 8am - 5pm risk-free, "I am gainfully employed" path. The right question you should ask is, what are they doing differently? Typical paths do not produce atypical results, they can only bring the expected outcome. When you break norms, you break old habits and form new ones.

By Dr. Precious Alino