"The truth - that we need to stand out and to fit in - has been codified, in recent years, as “optimal distinctiveness theory”. We crave the sweet spot between being too exceptional or too normal, and we’re constantly adjusting our behaviour. When we feel suffocated by sameness, we’ll strive to make our mark, but if we feel too lonely in our differentness, we’ll rush to conform."

Oliver Burkeman on ordinariness The Guardian