Are You Creatively Maladjusted?

This week we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day for many good reasons, but one thing that  stands out for me is his coining of a new phrase: creatively maladjusted.

 

And in a sermon on this topic Martin Luther King Jr explicitly said:

Everybody passionately seeks to be well-adjusted…but there are some things in our world to which men of good will must be maladjusted…Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

 

Psychiatrists and psychologists call adjusted the intention of fitting in, being accepted, functioning well.

The average teenager is obsessed with being accepted, but so are we adults, more than we care to admit. In our society we are rewarded for being well-adjusted.

From earliest childhood, parents and other well-meaning adults have instructed us on how to behave, what to do and say, how to avoid problems with others, cultivate good manners and relationships. All of this is supposed to help us navigate through life without emotional pain.

King realized that to solve the problems of human life, especially the deepest problems-like racism, poverty, and war-we have to become, in a sense, abnormal.

We have to stop going along; we have to stop accepting what everyone else believes. We have to become maladjusted if we are at all to become creative problem solvers in our world.

A great life is not one that only makes us comfortable. It’s one that stretches us and forces us to confront the world as it is. It requires us to ask ourselves questions like,

• “Why is this normal?” and
• “What am I really accomplishing by believing and acting this way?”

 

We need to be creatively maladjusted. 

What does this mean?

It means we entertain “new ways of being in the world”. The creatively maladjusted person will look for and allow for new creative solutions to old issues, see problems from all angles, regardless of seeming impossibilities and past failures.

 

 

 

As my sisters and I have matured (aged?) we decided that we were going to be “The Three Weird Sisters.”  It became okay to be different. It was easier than trying to fit in. In fact, we take pride in being unique! So, this is us..>

 

 

 

 

Is there something in life that calls you to be “creatively maladjusted?

Is something “bugging” you that needs you to take action?

Is there a place that you need to step out of line and take your own path?

Have you discovered the pitfalls of “conforming” to someone else’s standards?

You can share your comments below and give all of us a little more hope!