Your Crazy Family

"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well." - Joe Ancis

One of my favorite quotes, and one which may start other future articles.

And true, with one exception:

Your crazy family.

Now, if your family is truly crazy, then you may have become aware of the fact at a very young age. But if you're lucky enough to have a standard-grade crazy family, it may not be until you get married or close to it that you realize the truth. Your family is crazy.

It's not your fault. The part of your brain that hears the word "Sprite" and thinks immediately of the soft drink, not the little fairy it's named after, is the same part that doesn't even blink your eyes when your mom ducks as she walks past the microwave because she doesn't want to get exposed to death rays.

You grew up with these crazy people, and for all you know, they're just normal. Then you bring your new significant other home to meet your family. And then they tell you the truth.

And then you realize, gee, it is kinda crazy that your mom never actually says what she wants but always seems to somehow get it. Or that your dad has never stopped cleaning his gun.

Or that (if you're a man) you've never used someone's toilet standing up because your mom would not approve of the (potential) mess.

Or that (if you're a woman) you've never flushed a tampon because your mom (why is it always mom?) didn't want it to get clogged in the pipes, because then dad would have to crawl under the house to open the pipes, and what would come splashing out onto him but your used tampon, now is that what you want to have happen, Miss I-flush-my-tampons-into-my-father's-face?!

See? No need to worry. You're just as crazy as they are.

The Religion Gene

In "What We Believe but Cannot Prove," edited by John Brockman, the essay by U Mich psych professor Randolph M. Neese, M.D. begins:

"I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure that people gain a selective advantage from believing in things they can't prove."

Religion is an inherently human trait. Even for the most committed rational thinker, the axiom that "There are no atheists in foxholes" still applies. This faith, the belief that we cannot fail because God is on our side, or that we do not need to fear death because we will be cared for in the afterlife, enables acts of great bravery and comforts us in times of great need.

While the universe of human understanding continues to grow, aiding the atheist's argument with each passing year, atheists will always be in the minority. Scientists will never disprove the existence of supernatural force -- precisely because it is just that, super-natural, outside the purvey of the science of nature.

Humans will always find strength and perseverence through faith. Do you agree?

The Hedgehog

The business book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins contains a chapter, "The Hedgehog Concept," about how the "great" companies found what they could be world-class at and ran with it. This "one big thing" comes at the intersection of three questions:

1. What you can be the best in the world at
2. What drives your economic engine
3. What you are deeply passionate about

The author applies the concept to an individual's career as an analogy, one which resonated strongly with me, as I and many of my gen-X/Y peers are struggling to find our (individualy tailored, of course) "one big thing." The author discusses the difference between a Hedgehog Concept and a "core competence":

"You can have competence at something but not necessarily have the potential to be the best in the world at it.... [M]any people have been pulled or fallen into careers where they can never attain complete mastery and fulfillment. Suffering from the curse of competence but lacking a clear Hedgehog Concept, they rarely become great at what they do."

I haven't formed my own Hedgehog Concept yet, suffering the exact curse that Mr. Collins has defined. But I'm working on breaking it.

What's your Concept? How do you focus your strengths and minimize your weaknesses?