https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpZGjZzdrQg
I’m pretty weird. I have a strange sense of humor, I juggle, I have elaborate conversations with myself and when I’m walking through the halls at school I like to pretend I’m spider man. Yet, I’m not a psycho. Really.
Anywaaay, seeing as I’m currently dwelling in the shitland of productivity I thought I’d write a post on weirdness. Today we’re going to talk about the difference between weirdos that are perceived to have high social status, and weirdos that you’re afraid will molest your children.
And yes, I know this is shaping up to be a weird post. Get it? 😉 Uhmm… never mind. (Everything’s always funnier in my head.) Let’s get back on topic.
What’s the defining factor whether an unusual behavior is “cool weird” or “weird weird?”
The place that it comes from. If you’re being weird just to get the attention of others you’re gonna be labeled a weirdo. Weirdness arising from a deficiency of self-esteem and feeling that you’re not enough will drive people away from you. In other words, typically when you adjust your behavior for the sole purpose of pleasing others it’s going to be weird.
On the other hand, the type of weirdness that earns respect for your individuality is that which arises merely out of self-expression. You can typically get away with (and often be rewarded for) going against societal norms as long as you do something because it allows you to express yourself and you “buy-in” to whatever you’re doing.
A perfect example of weirdness arising from self-expression was me in one of my Spanish classes a couple months ago. The room was completely quiet and spontaneously I sang, “Ra Ra RaRaRaRa Yo Soy Lady Gaga.”
The entire class erupted into laughter and my singing was a “high-value” behavior because I did something that was an expression of who I am and what I think is funny rather than what I thought other people would laugh at.
To conclude let’s consider a simple rule of thumb. If you’re being weird to get attention from or try to please other people it’s going to make them uncomfortable and be “weird weird.” However, if you’re going against societal norms because doing so makes you happy or allows you to better express yourself it’ll be considered a high-status behavior.
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Picture is from me pretending to be Spiderman inside Target. I don’t have any school Spiderman pictures. Quick story though, I was pretending to be spiderman in the hall and I accidentally elbowed a girl in the face. I was mortified so I apologized, hugged her, and chatted her up as we walked down the stairs together. She was cute and ended up being pretty cool. Unfortunately I forgot to ask for the phone number before we said goodbye. I’m still kicking myself. Oh well. Moral of the story? If you think a girl’s cute elbow her in the face and she’ll end up liking you 😉
(For the real dummies don’t actually do this. It won’t work. Well I guess it could, but again where the actions are coming from is much more important than what you do.)
Also, this is the first post I’ve written in almost two weeks. Maybe the quality isn’t back yet, but I’ve gotten myself to actually sit down for the first time in FOREEEVER so I’m considering today a victory. And this section is getting almost as long as the post itself so I’m going to rock out of here now. Peaceee.
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