Ordinary is boring. Ordinary is not extraordinary. Ordinary is fine for some, but those people never do or become the extraordinary.

We need the extraordinary. They remind us that we are ordinary. They also remind us that we can be extraordinary. Otherwise, we’re just ordinary, and ordinary is boring.

Enough of this. I’ve been living in Japan for 10 years now and if I think of the impact I can have on people here, rather than in NZ, the difference is stark. My presence alone is enough to make people act differently. Not only that, often when I talk to people, they are surprised by what I have to say, even if I’m just saying what it’s like in NZ and in other countries, ie that the status quo can be different.

Oftentimes I see, especially in my students, people acting in an otherwise non-Japanese manner, which is to say, that they’re ok with not being ordinary. That seems to be the aim in a lot of Japanese society, to fit in, however it kinda goes without saying but the movers of society, the ones who change things, are never the ordinary people. I’ve seen it firsthand on multiple occasions.

So, don’t be ordinary. Ordinary maintains the status quo. Ordinary stalls progress. Be extraordinary and lead by example.