The son of a friend of mine just graduated from law school. When asked what type of law he would like to pursue, his response was: “I’m good at writing and I enjoy research. Plus, if I go into research I don’t have to deal with people.”
As my friend was telling me this he told me this story, he said “I never listen to country music but when I got into my car, somehow the radio had been switched to a country music channel and the repeating line of the song being played was:
‘God is great, beer is good
And people are crazy’
People are Crazy
Throughout my career, I’ve dealt with fairly healthy people. And they’re all crazy! Including me. One of my clients said that everybody is 15% crazy. And if their 15% matched her 15%, everything was good. But if their 15% was at the opposite end of the spectrum from her 15%, they were going to have real problems, because they were crazy!
Smart People are Crazy
I think people with large IQ’s are particularly stubborn when it comes to crazy.
- They’re smart.
- They’re logical.
- They can think through things.
- They assume there is no other way to see a problem or solution.
Our reaction to them is that… “They’re crazy.”
Untrustworthy People are Crazy
When people are untrustworthy, devious, or manipulative they can be seen as crazy. If someone acts one way in certain circumstances and another in others, they are not seen as having integrity. They can be termed crazy.
If you feel you’re being manipulated by another person (and we always seem to know) one of our reactions is “Are they crazy?” People with integrity are seldom seen as crazy.
Overcoming Crazy
We mentioned integrity above. That’s a big part of overcoming crazy. Another trait is humility. Humble people don’t believe they know it all. They don’t seem crazy. A third is curiosity; it requires good listening. I’ve often talked about listening with the intent to understand. When you’re really curious, it requires that you learn something while you’re listening and asking questions. Listening with the intent to understand really cuts down on craziness.
Where is your Crazy?
People are crazy!
Have you thought about where you seem crazy to other people?
- Think about it.
- Ask about it.
- Do something about it.
Being less crazy will help you be better at everything you do.