What are your quirks?

C’mon, fess up. We all have quirks, what are yours?

Having worked with statistics for many years I can attest that “normal” or “average” in people is a concept, not a reality.  No one is actually average, because we all have things about us that are quirky. That’s because are human beings, not robots. To get theological for a moment, God made us to all be slightly different.

 Some of my quirks are that I don’t like to put things in or over my ears (I am not one of those people who walk in ear buds around  listening to music) and I don’t like to watch TV.  Barb Nangle, who guest posts on my newsletter, talks about how she wears fingerless gloves ten months a year and watches Hallmark movies like Christmas in July. A friend of mine tells me that the fact that she brushes her teeth with hot water is something people tell her is quirky.

When we try to hide or erase those quirks, we waste time and energy.  Plus we devalue the things that make us who we really are. Further, we lose the opportunity to look around us at the people we care about and value their quirks. It might enhance your relationship with them if you notice and appreciate their quirks. A friend just told me the saying: “We love people because of their quirks, not in spite of them.”

Huge caveat here: I am not condoning quirks that people have that hurt others. Those are different and need to be treated differently.  I am talking about harmless differences that we all have.

What quirks can you value about the people you care about?