Stigma is a big thing, and it probably affects one’s mental health more than we can comprehend. When one is called weird, they feel like an outcast, they don’t belong, they are the black sheep, etc. – at least I felt like that at times when I was called weird.
I recently came across a LinkedIn post defining weird in a different way, expressing weird to be the leader of global standards. What I liked about this post is that it was written by someone whom I know is deeply passionate about sports and wellness, Dr Phathokuhle Zondi. My relatively short encounter with her was on the athletics fields – she would talk passionately about fitness and running speed – and I am not surprised about how ignited she is in the research and development of sports medicine.
Her post described what WEIRD stands for, based on her and her co-presenter’s research – western educated industrial rich democratic countries. Generally, being weird refers to being marginalized and what I enjoyed about her post was her showing the contradictions – 80% of sports and exercise medicine (SEM) research data comes from the WEIRD countries, which represent 12% of the world’s population and the same research findings are then used to inform 100% of the world’s population on clinical practice, governance processes and policy. Her post further highlights that this is a problem, as nuances in incidence, risk factors and context for all groups are not taken into account. The light at the end of the tunnel? The weird countries seem to be giving the non-weird countries the platform to conduct their own research.
Leaning towards the weird is unfortunately not limited to the SEM or health field alone, it applies to many fields. This is glaringly prevalent in businesses – where context is generally not taken into account and consequently owners missing out on understanding the underlying risk factors that are likely to impact their businesses negatively.
Many businesses imitate instead of emulate. When you emulate you take your context, inherent risk factors, etc. into account. In most cases, because many people get so stuck in mastering the processes (imitating),they forget to assess what is happening around them and get frustrated when things don’t move forward.
In this day and age, it is important to ensure that what you serve is contextualized. Conversely, what you receive must also be suited to your own circumstances – don’t just receive because the WEIRD said so. We have subconsciously accepted the WEIRD traits as our own and we find it hard to question most of them, resulting in neglect of our own. Instead, our own have become strange and alien.
Although your own traits are important, they still need to backed by solid evidence – don’t just rebel against the WEIRD for the sake of rebelling. Get advice from those who are well informed and experienced to help you. So, where are you acting WEIRD when you should not be?