this is a video for ordinary people.
in a world with 7.7 billion people from all walks of life it can be easy to feel
like you're just another face in the crowd and that you don't bring something to the table.
I often scrolled on my google feed reading about entrepreneurs philanthropists and scientists
and wonder where i fit in the grand scheme of life. I'm never the smartest person in the room
nor the kindest, and i'm sure all of my greatest anecdotes are stories that have been told before.
i've never saved someone's life and i've never had my own at risk.
i hear people say "carpe diem" seize the day as i am on my seventh hour of editing drinking my
seventh cup of tea of the day. i can't sing or dance and i've never sky jumped in Australia.
Even now after having travelled for years and having had an incredible experience i constantly
worry that my life is boring and not unique. I picture myself lying on a hospital bed with
nothing important to say. It might sound like a strange fear but i know i'm not the only one.
I recently discovered that there's even a name for this fear: Koinophobia. When you go on your
social media page it's filled with friends and family living the dream: buying a house of 20,
graduating from law school or traveling the world's finest beaches with a first class ticket.
You take your eyes off the screen in the apartment you once loved feels a little bland;
it doesn't have the view of the Maldives like this girl with 100k on Instagram.
Everyone on social media shows their highlights which makes us think that they are living a
crazy life but by now i hope we all realize that this is not the case and most parts of
our day actually feel banal. We all want to feel special and unique, it's a human need that fuels
narcissism and backstabbing in the workplace. But why? why do we crave an extraordinary life.
I guess as humans we're all competitive and we want to have the best life to show off to others.
You want to be the most successful person in the family. You want to have the highest
grades in your class and you want to have the biggest home on the street.
I understand all of this and i felt the same myself before but i want to give
a counter argument and hopefully make people realize the joys and living an ordinary life.
First of all i think the idea of an extraordinary life is subjective.
What might sound the dream to you could be the opposite for another person.
Some of us crave fame, whilst others prefer their privacy.
Some of us put their family first, whilst others want to focus on improving themselves first.
This makes the topic a little confusing as it can be easy to get sidetracked on what your
goal might be. What's important to you might be family but when you hear about your friend
climbing the corporate ladder you may have a feeling of jealousy. We can't have it all
but we can excel in one area of life if we put enough focus into it, so take the time
to think about what matters most to you and you might lose the fear of not being great enough.
Recently i've seen a trend called the slow living movement and i think this is a great side of
social media. That there is a joy in smelling the flowers and laying back instead of advancing in
your career and being stressed. That some people would rather have personal privacy in live in the
countryside rather than live in a city and have paparazzi follow and judge their every move.
That some people prefer having a self-care day at home in place of doing it in Mexico and spending a
hundred times the money. This doesn't make you ordinary but shows where your priorities lie.
In 2017 i was about to start law school and i had a pit in my stomach. I knew this wasn't my destiny
but i'd spent so much time convincing myself that it was a sector for me as it was impressive
and would make my family proud. What i really wanted to do was travel and experience new things
even knowing that it wouldn't pay the bills and i wouldn't have a lot of job prospects in my future.
However making the change and putting my happiness and passion first was the best
decision i ever made. Maybe my future isn't as green as i dreamed of as a kid but i now will
be happier than i ever would in a courtroom. Why? Because i found out where i want to excel in life.
What makes me happy in life and makes me feel achieved is going on adventures and
experiencing things not everyone else has. I believe that we can all be remarkable you