The Quiet Power of being Ordinary: 5 things to Listen to, Watch, Read, Sign up to and Do
The past couple of weeks have been full of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. The Winter Olympics were breathtaking, although how anyone learns to throw themselves off a ski jump like that is beyond me. The BAFTAs showcased incredible global talent, and the Six Nations Rugby have given us a parade of athletes who seem almost superhuman.
But it got me thinking that in celebrating the extraordinary, we often forget the quiet power of being ordinary. Most of us won’t fly off a half‑pipe, clutch a gold mask, or sprint down a pitch with a roaring stadium behind us and that is completely okay. If there were no ordinary, there could be no extraordinary.
So these 5 things are dedicated to celebrating the beauty of an ordinary life.
Listen: Songs that focus on ordinary or normal
Interesting that when you put ‘songs about being ordinary’ into a search engine, it also throws up songs about being normal! There are plenty, from Ordinary People (John Legend) and an Ordinary Life (Van Morrison). And then there’s Common People by Pulp which is more social commentary than celebration, but not a bad tune! Not every song glorifies ordinariness, but many of them remind us that everyday experiences shape who we are and that’s OK.
Watch: Why an Ordinary Life Can Be a Good Life. The School of Life YouTube
This short clip challenges the idea that a good life must be extraordinary and distinguished. Instead, it suggests that wisdom and genuine happiness often come from learning to value the ordinary. Drawing on the work of artists like Vermeer, from the 1650s, the clip shows how the everyday has been quietly celebrated for centuries. It’s brief, thought‑provoking, and may just change the way you look at a painting!
Read: The Extraordinary Gift of Being Ordinary: Finding Happiness Right Where You Are. Ronald Siegal (2022)
I really enjoyed this book even if it did veer into slightly self‑affirming sound-bite territory now and then. Siegal focuses on that stubborn inner voice most of us know all too well: Did I sound ridiculous? Should I really have sent that email? What on earth do I look like right now? The stories he shares are familiar (and I say that as someone who’s generally pretty confident!), and the book is packed with practical exercises to help you stop obsessing over whether you “measure up.” His core message is refreshingly simple: once you accept that you’re ordinary, just like everyone else, you can actually enjoy life a whole lot more. It’s also worth it for the number of times you’ll laugh, realise “oh, I do that”, and then laugh a bit more.
Sign up to: doing an ‘ordinary ‘activity with ‘ordinary‘ people
This one stretches the category a bit, but when I went searching for newsletters or groups about celebrating ordinariness, almost everything promised to make you better, faster, stronger, or more high performing. So instead, here’s the challenge: join something simple, local and grounded. A walking group, a pottery class or a book club that doesn’t require reading a book a week. Sometimes we just need reminding that new, valuable experiences aren’t reserved for the extraordinary.
Do: Celebrate your ordinariness!
Everything I looked at to find out how to celebrate ordinariness, celebrated it as extraordinary, so maybe we just need to redefine what is extraordinary!
Wishing you a blessed ordinary life.
Leigh
Professor Leigh Robinson is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) at the University of Roehampton and a Women-Space Associate. You can connect to Leigh here.
March 2025