This isn't entirely an original idea, Louis CK and Mark Manson have both talked about this in one form or another, and I will try not to plagiarize their take on it (not too much at least).
But after being around random bits of TV, reality shows, airport news channels, people streaming various things on phones and generally speaking passively being forced to watch our current plethora of over the top reality TV for the last month or so, all I know is everyone is awesome and special and unique and no one is ordinary or boring.
Does anyone work a day job anymore, or does everyone sing and dance and play sports ball?
That message seems to be the only thing we are capable of seeing anymore on TV; extremes.
If you aren't extreme, you are special, if you aren't special, you are unique, and if you aren't those you are destined for greatness. Everyone is number one, all the time.
We get our self esteem from #Hashtags, our ego blown from Facebook and our information about the world from twitter. Random illiterate celebrities are prime sources of political opinion now.
Everyone is beautiful, even a 65 year old guy in a dress is beautiful. And everyone is a genius, even if they can't speak outside of txt talk, lol.
How do we keep up when everyone is so awesome, all the time?
The statistical reality of the highly improbable has become the day to day likelihood in our mass market reality show culture.
And for some reason if you have any question, comment or criticism about any one person's claim for uniqueness you are immediately labeled with some word that ends in 'ism' or 'phobia'.
The reality is most of us are really kind of boring and ordinary. And honestly, that's ok. What makes us unique is being ourselves and not trying to be something we are not.
Society and our culture simply can't have 99.42% rock stars, rap stars, super models, basketball, football or reality show gods.
Seriously, who is going to cook at restaurants or drive trucks or fix airplanes when we are all so awesome and famous?
Realistically our television and mass market media, well, it's entertainment, and it is peddled as the truth and reality. It isn't.
And that part is going to catch up with us sooner or later, we simply can't all win, all the time.
Its ok to be kind of ordinary and enjoying what you have in life.
You seriously don't need to compete with the illusion of what TV sells.
Be yourself, it's all that you can be.
