different is not negative // different is just different

I can’t remember if I’ve written this post before, it feels like I have, but I’m writing it again anyway, because I have this nagging feeling that people just don’t get this idea, but I have been saying for a while now and have had several conversations on it as of late: different is not negative, different is just different.

I don’t know where this idea originated but it did somewhere along the way. Something was different and as a result it was deemed negative. Now, different can be negative, but it is not inherently negative. Makes me think of that song that Cookie Monster from Sesame Street used to sing (not the “c” is for cookie) but the, “One of these things is not like the other thing, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” Cookie Monster never said, “One of these things is not like the other, cause its bad, one of these things just doesn’t belong here because no one likes it or it is somehow inherently negative.”

This idea comes to play mostly for me in the world of vision and the world of volunteering. In the world of volunteering you’ll run across people who are passionate about a certain area, but they are just no good in that area. So, the logical thing to do is ask them to find a different place to volunteer, one that would suit their giftings in a much better way (thus, for the church world filter I have, edifying the body in a healthy way). But what happens, is that people hear different and they think negative. I’m not good enough, you don’t like me, etc. etc. I think this is ridiculous. Why do people make this leap? Mostly I’m sure its from insecurity. That’s why I make the leap most of the time. Here’s an example from my own life. Kids frighten me. We don’t communicate well. So, I stay away from trying to do anything in that world other than help support someone who is gifted in that area. My giftings are different. That’s not a negative or bad thing. It’s just different. I could go on, but you get the point…hopefully.

And vision…If an organization, or new company, or a church, or a movement is going to make it, they have to stick with their vision. Too often people come up to the visionary and say, “Hey, I have this idea that I think we should run with.” The visionary says no, that doesn’t square with our vision. (Andy Stanley says something to the effect of “Vision should determine direction, not people’s random ideas.”) But, what ends up happening is said person with idea gets their feelings hurt because they don’t understand this principle that different is not negative, different is just different. It doesn’t mean that the visionary hates you, or that you have stupid ideas, or that it was a bad idea. It simply means that your idea was different than the vision that was determining direction and as a result, the organization or movement could not follow it. This has no bearing other than clearly saying, no that’s different.

Different is not negative. Different is just different.

start a conversation with me…