Escaping the Cult of the Average

Have you ever considered what it means to be normal? During a live radio interview a few days ago, that question arose, and the host stated that to be normal meant average and that we should aspire to be more than that, to be exceptional, not simply average. I agree.  
Average is following. Average is not reaching your potential. Average is existing but not truly living. 
Then I stumbled on something wonderful that validated the thought process and I've been sharing it with everyone! We need to change our thought process to be more grateful, to see the positives and the beauties in life and we will learn to excel. We will learn to escape the Cult of the Average, as Shawn Achor states in this TED talk. 
Watch it. He's awesome. Also, his sister is a unicorn, so how can you go wrong? 
I decided to take his 21 day challenge to change my thought process and created this incredible gratitude board on Pinterest. Yes, I'm grateful for each of these things, including the cookies and right now, especially the sunshine! But then I had a thought. If showing gratitude can affect the way we think, don't I want my children to do the same? 
I have awesome kids, who rarely complain, rarely fight, rarely argue ... awesome, right? So I wanted them to participate too. So, I showed them the video of Shawn and they laughed throughout the entire showing and then came the next idea, one I wondered if they'd actually participate in. A family gratitude board. Great idea, right? We hung it on the landing of our stairs, a place everyone passes multiple times per day and we set several dry-erase markers beside it. Three days later we have this.
And it makes me smile and laugh every time I walk by to see what the kids have posted. Seriously, "these weird people I call family" and "pigs and pig farmers" just so you know, that's the bacon gratitude there. Smaller words state "Lithuania" because one daughter is planning to teach English there this next fall, and "white boards" and why not? Without them we wouldn't have this masterpiece. 
Yes, it's made a difference in our house. I love it. My kids love it. I love that they're posting their siblings' names and even their gratitude of unicorns. And yes, even after a few days the level of positive energy has increased. I can't wait to see what happens by day 21, and I'm now trying to figure out how to make more space as this is truly a habit we're keeping. Thanks, Shawn Achor!