Dec 20, 2018

You Aren’t Special (And Neither Am I)

You are not special. You were not put on this planet to engage in some extra special mission that will save all of us, forever.

You are not inherently better than or worse than others. You are extremely normal. You are incredibly average. And, in a very comforting and real way, we pretty much all are.

But our egos love to cling to our specialness.

And there are two main ways that these special thoughts rear their ugly heads.

Specialness shows itself in any thoughts that are about us being ‘better than’ or ‘less than’ others.

Maybe you consistently feel better than people in most areas of your life.

I’m smarter. I’m more successful. I’m funnier. I’m better looking. I have a more agile mind. I’m more creative. I’m harder working. Is this stupid event even worth my time? Because my time is valuable. Because, haven’t you heard, I’m an extra special person.

Or maybe you feel special in terms of how much worse you are than others. 

I’m special in my brokenness. My pain is special. I am an especially shitty and shameful person. I am more evil than others. I am the devil incarnated. I deserve to be punished more than others. I have suffered more than others.

Whatever noise your ego-mind feeds you… you can always find a way to rank yourself as better or worse than others around you. 

It’s important to name, that specialness is very different than uniqueness.

We are all inherently unique. We all have our own unique gifts to contribute to the world.

As my mentor P.T. Mistlberger often says, “We are all different colours of the spectrum… but we all came from white light. We are of the same source.”

So when you catch your mind ranking your uniqueness as better than or worse than the uniqueness of others, that’s when you’ve succumbed to the endless ramblings of your ego-mind.

First, acknowledge the special thoughts that you carry, share them with a trusted, non-shaming friend, laugh at them together, and then begin to let go of them.

Let go of the ranking system.

Celebrate yourself for who you actually are, and love others in the same manner.

If you want to find someone who you think is better than you, your mind will be able to find it. Conversely, if you want to find someone who is worse than you (by whatever metric you are tracking in that moment) you’ll be able to find that too.

It’s an endless game, and it’s a game that no one can ever win.

So…

Just let go.

Stop playing it altogether, and get on with the business of fully engaging with life as you are.

Blog

Related

See All
Stop Hoping For An Easy Life
Jan 10, 2019
Jordan Gray
Stop Hoping For An Easy Life
Today, more than ever, people are psychologically soft. We have been raised in a time of unprecedented ease, comfort, and convenience. We are, on a daily basis, guarded from the painful realities of life. We avoid real-time romantic rejection by swiping left and right on the faces of strangers. We...
Continue Reading
An Open Love Letter To Women's Bodies
Jan 29, 2014
Jordan Gray
An Open Love Letter To Women’s Bodies
Losing my virginity took less than a minute. I was so mesmerized by the beauty, openness, and curves of my girlfriend that I felt overwhelmed. Every curve of her body begging to have my hands on them. Every patch of skin that I touched softer than the last. Her eyes staring into my soul with...
Continue Reading
How A Small Act Of Love Saved A Life
Dec 21, 2018
Jordan Gray
How A Small Act Of Love Saved A Life
Kelly woke up just as angry as she had been when she fell asleep. She rolled over and, letting out a sigh of relief, felt glad that her husband had already gotten up. Honestly, she didn’t want to see his face right now. Putting on her favourite pink slippers, she made her way downstairs...
Continue Reading
New Relationship? Here Are 5 Ways To Overcome Your Anxiety
Mar 4, 2018
Jordan Gray
New Relationship? Here Are 5 Ways To Overcome Your Anxiety
One of the most common questions that I get on a weekly basis is... "I'm in a new relationship and I feel a low level state of anxiety basically 24/7. Am I normal!? Will this ever end? Should I listen to my anxiety and run, or hunker down and stick it out?" Many a new relationship...
Continue Reading
4 Positive Addictions That You Should Indulge In
Jan 4, 2020
Jordan Gray
4 Positive Addictions That You Should Indulge In
Addictions are usually thought of as behaviours that damage and hinder your life. But addictions and compulsions are on a sliding scale. Some, you could argue, are more useful than others. There’s very little upside to being a heroin addict. But there are many other habits that are considered addictions,...
Continue Reading
101 Things I Love About My Wife
Nov 27, 2022
Jordan Gray
101 Things I Love About My Wife
Today is my wife's 30th birthday. Happy birthday Demetra! And so, to celebrate, aside from the usual presents and cards and cuddles (which she is also getting), I decided to write down some things that I love about her. If you've been following her work for any length of time, many of these...
Continue Reading