Let me be clear to start with that there is nothing—absolutely nothing, and I repeat, “Nothing!”—intrinsically wrong with normal life. In fact, the longer I’m on the Different journey, the more I understand—and respect—why most people choose not to go on it.
The “system” is set up to operate in a normal range, so in order to operate outside the range, life gets harder. That means you have to want the benefits of Different in order to put up with the harder-ness.
After 20 years of Different, I also realize that, for me, the benefits are absolutely worth the trouble. And chances are, if you’re asking the question at the top of this post, you’re someone who is equally ready to take on a few hard things to get out of the normal range.
Let me list several big reasons why “everyone” seems content with normal life except you.
#1 Some of them actually are.
Get your eyes off of these folks. Respect their desire to be normal, and move on with your dreams.
#2 Many of them actually aren’t, but they don’t know what else to do.
If you have an appropriate relationship, it might be worth your while to ask what’s keeping them from exploring something more satisfying. Then realize you don’t have to be stuck by whatever’s stopping them—whether fear, laziness, lack of vision, or any other motivation not to change.
#3 You’re assuming something about people that isn’t true.
There’s no such thing as “everyone.” It’s a mind game we play with ourselves to second guess and otherwise undermine our own ambitions. You’re pretending that all other people want something besides what you want. And even if they do want something you don't (i.e., "normal" life), it doesn’t matter because of Big Reason #4.
#4 Who cares? You certainly shouldn’t.
If you’re not content because you want some better way to live, then keep your eyes on the path ahead of you, and don’t worry about what others think or want.
A good mind management exercise is to remind yourself of how to think about the contentment question every time it comes to mind. Answer yourself this way:
Whether they are content or not doesn’t matter; I’m living my life and think I could experience something more satisfying, so I’m going to go for it.
You may be feeling restless because there’s truly another “game” in life you’d rather be playing but just haven’t figured out what it is yet (see my post “Playing a Different Game than ‘Normal’” for encouragement in discovering your “game”). And if you need a bit of self-examination help to determine if you really want to do Different, check out my post “How Ready Are You to Do Different?”
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