Be Remarkable. Join Me In Moving to the Fringe.

You may not realize it, but your entire life, you’ve been shoved toward the middle of the pack. Culture, school, church, and family have been on a mission to make you average.

There is, however, a secret society where being average and running with the pack is abhorred. They’ve discovered it’s possible to be remarkable by moving to the fringe. I’m breaking into this renegade group of free thinkers. By reading this article you are gaining your own introduction to the society. Consider this my personal invitation for you to join.

Think of how true it is that people are pushed toward the middle of the pack by being taught the greatest good is to fit in.

For me, it began when I tried to color my first picture. Like most kids, I marked outside the lines. You would think this was the biggest sin ever committed in the history of the human race. “You can’t color outside the lines!” And so began the push toward the middle of the pack.

In grade school, my teacher introduced me to cursive writing. From the moment I picked up my first pencil, I was told I did it wrong. Why? I grasped the pencil with my left hand. My grade school teacher told me, “You can’t do it like that.” Why not? If I accomplished the task, what was the problem? From her perspective, I needed to fit in and do it like everyone else; even though my writing was legible.

The same is true of most churches. The goal is to be average and live in the middle of the pack. People who ask edgy questions are dangerous. And if you are preparing for ministry, you must say the right words to the accrediting board. Failure to do so keeps you out of the club. The church taught me I had to think like them, look like them, talk like them, and act like them.

Do you remember what it was like to apply for a job? You struggled to format your resume like all the other resumes. You dressed for the interview keeping in mind what other candidates were wearing. Culture taught us the job goes to those who have learned to fit in.

For your entire life, the gatekeepers shove you to the middle of the pack; groom you to fit in. You are another cookie stamped out by a cookie-cutter culture.

What’s wrong with living in the middle of the pack? Is it bad to fit in with everyone else? It depends on whether you want an average life or a remarkable one. Being in the middle of the pack is safe, but boring. It is to settle for being average.

Check out this bell curve:

The big hump in the center is where most people live. According to society, it’s where you belong. It’s the safe place. It’s the place where you fit. It’s the place where you don’t ask the hard questions or rock the boat. It’s the place being ok results in applause. It’s the place where average is king and mediocrity is queen.

Maybe you want to live in that place, but I don’t. Be remarkable. Join me in moving to the fringe.

What would happen, if you and I decided to break free from the middle and move to the fringe? What if we decided it didn’t matter if we fit in, but what mattered was that we became extraordinary? What if making a difference in the world, became more important than marching with the masses?

There are many ways to apply this kind of thinking.

Younger readers need to rethink the wisdom of fitting in. Be leery of well-traveled paths leading to the center of the bell curve. Don’t struggle to be like your peers. Make the decision to journey to the fringe. Carve out a remarkable life and don’t settle for anything less.

Older readers approaching retirement must fight the push to the middle. Run from the accepted view of retirement. Don’t sit back eating Pop Tarts by the pool all day long. Refuse to believe your life is over. Don’t let watching Wheel of Fortune be the highlight of your day. Retirement ought to be the most productive phase of life.

Join me in moving toward the fringe. Aren’t you tired of being average? Isn’t getting squeezed into a mold getting old? How much longer will it be acceptable to not make a difference in your world?

We are a secret society of people, on our way to the fringe. Why? To become remarkable.

Regardless of your age, see you at the fringe!

Take The Next Step

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