Idiosyncrasy

We all have them. Those little things that we do each and every day that makes us unique. They are our idiosyncrasies.

Putting on one shoe before the other one. Putting on a shirt with a regular pattern. Brushing your teeth from right to left or left to right is just another pattern of your personal idiosyncrasies.

It might just seem the usual habit or those little quirky things that make you what you are. You don’t realize these idiosyncrasies happen because they have become habit.

They don’t ask the questions on your employment application or on those meet-someone-special websites (I think) about your idiosyncrasies. Your friends realize them and accept them and strangers have to find out something about you beyond your name.

Some might think these little actions make you eccentric. Before I put on my helmet, I blow into it. There is no reason to do that but it is one of those little idiosyncrasies I do. I never knew I did it until one day I was talking to someone while loading my bike and they asked, “Why do you blow into your helmet?” Now every time I get ready to ride I smile when I do it.

These little actions may appear irrational to someone else, but for those who want to be close, they will be accepted. Some idiosyncrasies can be changed while others must adapt to. Most idiosyncrasies are just shared with a little laugh.

During a troubled marriage, we went to see if there was a possible solution. The man who had married us was now practicing marriage counseling. This was the man who said we had to put “God” into our vows. After a brief Q&A he suggested we change our idiosyncrasies. Put on a different shoe in the morning, change your patterns and everything will be all right. Like shaking hands with the left instead of the right, it didn’t work out.

Individual behavior whether acceptable or not does make us all unique. Luckily, in most places, if we follow the cultural norm or don’t stand out from the crowd, we can keep our idiosyncrasies to ourselves.