Becoming a Positive Deviant

In this excerpt, the author talks about being one cog in a very large machine. While he was talking about the medical system, I’m thinking on a larger scale; the world. If you think about it, you realize that you are just one person in about 13 billion other people. That’s a lot of other people. So how do you stand out? How to you make a positive impact? In this excerpt, the author tries to answer those questions. He suggests five ways to become a “Positive Deviant”.
But first, what does it mean to be a positive deviant? I believe it describes someone who doesn’t follow the usual pattern; they deviate from it, but not to cause a mess, as many people do, but to make a positive impact on their lives as well as others.
He suggests five ways to become a positive deviant:
1. Ask an unscripted question. He mentions asking a question that is outside the normal range of questions, like asking someone if they watched the game of football last night, or if they have any pets. I think this can be applied to everyday life… instead of just standing silently while a grocer you see a lot bags your groceries, say hi, how are you? And smile… a single smile can make someone’s day a lot better, especially in a job like a cashier at Safeway. Or, a more common occurrence, someone who’s locker is next to yours, instead of saying hi and then ignoring them, ask them what class they’re going to next, or how their weekend was. You’ll find you have a lot more friends.
2. Don’t Complain. Well, now this one’s harder. Sometimes you may not realize you’re complaining, or that another person takes a simple comment like “Huh, I didn’t know I had a cut on my arm” as you complaining. Take the time to not purposely complain though, and even if you do, keep it to a minimum. As the author states, it gets annoying, and can really make you depressed.
3. Count Something. I perceive this one to mean that you should find something that interests you to do with your spare time, preferably something that will hopefully help someone. You could count the number of days your bird ignores his treats, or if he ignores specific types of treats, and use that information to give your bird the treats he likes. You could probably find something less silly though.
4. Write Something. After reading his suggestions for this one, I realized that blogs (which I previously though stupid) might actually be more than they seem. The author mentions writing, just so you think about your life, what you’re writing about, etc. And it made a lot of sense. I think that I will (maybe) write a blog or journal, even if it’s just to organize my thoughts (which are usually quite scrambled)
5. Change. I like this one. It’s a great suggestion! Humans are inherently afraid of change; we see it as a threat to our survival. But change is necessary for evolution and development of the human brain, so perhaps we should be more open to new ideas. No, I don’t believe that every new change proposed is a brilliant idea and should immediately be enacted, but we as a species should be more open to changes in technology, changes in lifestyle. Even trying new foods could be counted as change.
These five ideas, suggestions, whatever you want to call them, can be applied in everyday life, and not just in the life of a doctor, especially not just in the life of a high school/college student. If you can follow just one of these suggestions, you can become a better person. Someone who people admire, look up to, and like.