--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The adjuration to be \"normal\" seems…" description: "\"The adjuration to be \"normal\" seems shockingly repellent to me; I see neither hope nor comfort in sinking to that low level. I think it is ignorance th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dc/karl-a-menninger-21441_abnormal_the-adjuration-to-be-normal-seems-shocki_335915.png" --- # The adjuration to be "normal" seems shockingly repellent… ![“The adjuration to be "normal" seems shockingly repellent to me; I see neither hope nor comfort in sinking to that low level. I think it is ignorance that makes people think of abnormality only with horror and allows them to remain undismayed at the proximity of "normal" to average and mediocre…” quote by Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dc/karl-a-menninger-21441_abnormal_the-adjuration-to-be-normal-seems-shocki_335915.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dc/karl-a-menninger-21441_abnormal_the-adjuration-to-be-normal-seems-shocki_335915.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dc/karl-a-menninger-21441_abnormal_the-adjuration-to-be-normal-seems-shocki_335915.png) > “The adjuration to be "normal" seems shockingly repellent to me; I see neither hope nor comfort in sinking to that low level. I think it is ignorance that makes people think of abnormality only with horror and allows them to remain undismayed at the proximity of "normal" to average and mediocre. For surely anyone who achieves anything is, essentially, abnormal.” [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conforming to mediocrity is repulsive; true achievement is inherently abnormal and often misunderstood. **In simple terms:** Greatness is abnormal. Key Takeaway Embrace uniqueness, reject mediocrity. Themes achievement normalcy individuality creativity Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career ambition - artistic creation - scientific research - personal growth - education reform Key Concepts cognitive bias social conformity Questions to Reflect On - What does “normal” mean to you? - How can you celebrate abnormality? A Different Perspective Normalizing mediocrity can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abnormality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abnormality/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Proximity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proximity/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [An anomaly is not an abnormality. Diversity does not signify sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-canguilhem/an-anomaly-is-not-an-abnormality-diversity-does-not-signify-sickness/) [Georges Canguilhem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-canguilhem/) > [There are studies that tell us that stress and lack of self-image, lack of self-esteem, severe dieting, binge dieting and binge eating can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-nimoy/there-are-studies-that-tell-us-that-stress-and-lack-of-self-image/) [Leonard Nimoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-nimoy/) > [“If she is efficient and capable or ambitious, it is assumed that she has failed to find satisfaction as a normal woman, even to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/if-she-is-efficient-and-capable-or-ambitious-it-is-assumed-that-she/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [as a physician I examine the dying planet as I do a dying patient. The earth has a natural system of interacting homeostatic mechanisms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-caldicott/as-a-physician-i-examine-the-dying-planet-as-i-do-a-dying-patient-the/) [Helen Caldicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-caldicott/) > [Abnormalities in brain function have traditionally been detected using electroencephalography (EEG), which involves the measurement of the ongoing electrical activity generated by the brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aditi-shankardass/abnormalities-in-brain-function-have-traditionally-been-detected/) [Aditi Shankardass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aditi-shankardass/) > [Looking at obesity without preconceived ideas, one would assume that the main trend of research should be directed toward an examination of abnormalities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilde-bruch/looking-at-obesity-without-preconceived-ideas-one-would-assume-that/) Hilde Bruch > [“Is deviation from the locally approved norms always and everywhere to be taken as disease?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-wolfe/is-deviation-from-the-locally-approved-norms-always-and-everywhere-to/) Bernard Wolfe > [What we see in this world is a gross abnormality. The human consciousness fails to perceive the very simple, divine nature of every atom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/what-we-see-in-this-world-is-a-gross-abnormality-the-human/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Not everything that steps out of line, and thus "abnormal", must necessarily be "inferior".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-asperger/not-everything-that-steps-out-of-line-and-thus-abnormal-must/) [Hans Asperger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-asperger/) > [When you work as a day player on a film or a TV thing, like you're visiting a foreign country, where you know a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-heald/when-you-work-as-a-day-player-on-a-film-or-a-tv-thing-like-you-re/) [Anthony Heald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-heald/) > [From what has been said, it would appear that the possibility of thyroid deficiency should be considered, and if found, should be treated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/broda-otto-barnes/from-what-has-been-said-it-would-appear-that-the-possibility-of/) [Broda Otto Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/broda-otto-barnes/) > [Diversity is not an abnormality but the very reality of our planet. The human world manifests the same reality and will not seek our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/diversity-is-not-an-abnormality-but-the-very-reality-of-our-planet/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [In a noted 1943 Harvard study, there were no cases of toxemia, congenital anomalies, or neonatal deaths among a group of well-fed woman. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brewer/in-a-noted-1943-harvard-study-there-were-no-cases-of-toxemia/) Tom Brewer > [I should love to do a novel, about one abnormal character seeing present-day life, very ordinary life, yet arresting through it, abnormality, until at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/i-should-love-to-do-a-novel-about-one-abnormal-character-seeing/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [Photography - the supreme form of travel, of tourism - is the principal modern means for enlarging the world. As a branch of art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photography-the-supreme-form-of-travel-of-tourism-is-the-principal/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More by Karl A. Menninger > [The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward, and we want to sit in their radius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/the-friends-who-listen-to-us-are-the-ones-we-move-toward-and-we-want/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [The voice of the intelligence is drowned out by the roar of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/the-voice-of-the-intelligence-is-drowned-out-by-the-roar-of-fear/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [Our lives are shaped by those who love us as well as those who refuse to love us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/our-lives-are-shaped-by-those-who-love-us-as-well-as-those-who-refuse/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [It was his optimism that Freud bequeathed to America and it was the optimism of our youthfulness, our freedom from the sterner, sadder tradition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/it-was-his-optimism-that-freud-bequeathed-to-america-and-it-was-the/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [Neurotic means he is not as sensible as I am, and psychotic means he's even worse than my brother-in-law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/neurotic-means-he-is-not-as-sensible-as-i-am-and-psychotic-means-he-s/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [Chess is a more highly symbolic game, but the aggressions are therefore even more frankly represented in the play. It probably began as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/chess-is-a-more-highly-symbolic-game-but-the-aggressions-are/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [Unrest of spirit is a mark of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/unrest-of-spirit-is-a-mark-of-life/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [“We want him to see that as a result of being parented by imperfect parents, he (she) chooses the wrong people for the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/we-want-him-to-see-that-as-a-result-of-being-parented-by-imperfect/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [It is hard for a free fish to understand what is happening to a hooked one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/it-is-hard-for-a-free-fish-to-understand-what-is-happening-to-a/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [The voice of the intelligence is drowned out by the roar of fear. It is ignored by the voice of desire. It is contradicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/the-voice-of-the-intelligence-is-drowned-out-by-the-roar-of-fear-it/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [Set up as an ideal the facing of reality as honestly and as cheerfully as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/set-up-as-an-ideal-the-facing-of-reality-as-honestly-and-as/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [We have come to see that just as the child must learn to love wisely, so he must learn to hate expeditiously, to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/we-have-come-to-see-that-just-as-the-child-must-learn-to-love-wisely/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [To "know thyself" must mean to know the malignancy of one's own instincts and to know, as well, one's power to deflect it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/to-know-thyself-must-mean-to-know-the-malignancy-of-one-s-own/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [Hope is a necessity for normal life and the major weapon against the suicide impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/hope-is-a-necessity-for-normal-life-and-the-major-weapon-against-the/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [Mental health problems do not affect three or four out of every five persons, but one out of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/mental-health-problems-do-not-affect-three-or-four-out-of-every-five/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) [Explore all 29 Karl A. Menninger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) ## More Abnormal quotes > [While sleep is clearly vital to emotional well-being, what is it, exactly, about sleep that is so necessary? As it turns out, mood disorders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/while-sleep-is-clearly-vital-to-emotional-well-being-what-is-it/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [“The abnormal ones stand out. Thankfully I'm abnormal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-bekoe/the-abnormal-ones-stand-out-thankfully-i-m-abnormal/) [Marion Bekoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-bekoe/) > [Power when wielded by abnormal energy is the most serious of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/power-when-wielded-by-abnormal-energy-is-the-most-serious-of-facts/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [I think the thing that music can do is be unsettling. It is abnormal - music that's perceived to be different in an unresolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/i-think-the-thing-that-music-can-do-is-be-unsettling-it-is-abnormal/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [You don't want to love - your eternal and abnormal craving is to be loved. You aren't positive, you're negative. You absorb, absorb, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-want-to-love-your-eternal-and-abnormal-craving-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It may be an extreme example brought about by abnormal circumstances - but the criteria of human rights kick in, surely, precisely when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breyten-breytenbach/it-may-be-an-extreme-example-brought-about-by-abnormal-circumstances/) [Breyten Breytenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breyten-breytenbach/) > [Depression is not caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, and it is not cured by medication. Depression may not even be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-kirsch/depression-is-not-caused-by-a-chemical-imbalance-in-the-brain-and-it/) [Irving Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-kirsch/) > [“A ‘normal person’ is what is left after society has squeezed out all unconventional opinions and aspirations out of a human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-normal-person-is-what-is-left-after-society-has-squeezed-out-all/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [In the theory of gender I began from zero. There is no masculine power or privilege I did not covet. But slowly, step by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/in-the-theory-of-gender-i-began-from-zero-there-is-no-masculine-power/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Fury is an entirely appropriate response to a system that sends young people to kill other young people in a war that never should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/fury-is-an-entirely-appropriate-response-to-a-system-that-sends-young/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [I guess I'm attracted to these off beat roles because my life has been a bit abnormal. The only thing I have a problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-guess-i-m-attracted-to-these-off-beat-roles-because-my-life-has/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [My work involves the physical manifestation of emotional reality. Thus, the invisible becomes visible; the normal, abnormal; and the familiar, unfamiliar. 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They're deviant only if you say that anyone who is different from me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/benedict-xvi-kept-saying-that-homosexuals-are-deviant-they-re-not/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) Browse all 260 Abnormal quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The adjuration to be \"normal\" seems shockingly repellent to me; I see neither hope nor comfort in sinking to that low level. I think it is ignorance that makes people think of abnormality only with horror and allows them to remain undismayed at the proximity of \"normal\" to average and mediocre. For surely anyone who achieves anything is, essentially, abnormal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl A. 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