I’ve written about this topic before, but I’ve been thinking about it lately in a new way.
My kids can tell you the three things I hope I have really instilled in them as their mother, three lessons that will serve them throughout their lives. Here they are:
1) Never get a haircut you can’t take care of,
2) Don’t do opioids, not even once, and
3) You’re not special.
It’s that last one that I’ve been thinking about lately. Before I go on, let me be crystal clear that I want my kids to know that they are very special to me and their other loved ones, and they should create relationships with other people who see the specialness in them. But to the wider world, they aren’t special. And neither am I. And I think that’s a great thing.
When we let go of the burden of needing to live up to some idea of our own specialness, we are freed to be who we are. Whether our particular brand of specialness was supposed to be academic or athletic or creative, it can limit who we want to be. It scares us and keeps us from taking risks.
Remembering that we’re not special is also a great way to walk through the world. If each of us truly believed that we are just as special, no more and no less, as everyone else? Whoa.
