Normalization

Turn good behavior into habits, and block bad behavior as soon as it happens.

Normalization is the process of making something appear normal, routine, and unremarkable.

In his book On Freedom, historian Timothy Snyder writes that “normal” can be defined in two ways:

#1: Things we accept as commonplace, or

#2: Things we accept as a human ideal.

As an example: If you live in a war-torn country, destroyed homes and poverty may be commonplace. In that sense, they are “normal,” but they're clearly not a human ideal.

These two conflicting definitions of normalcy are important to understand because they illustrate how keeping things “normal” isn't always a good thing.

Humans have a natural bias towards normalcy and the status quo, but we must always be careful about what kind of “normal” we're pushing for. Sometimes moving away from what's normal is how we get closer to our ideals and goals.

Normalizing good Jiu-Jitsu training

Training Jiu-Jitsu is a great example of normalization. Think back to the beginning of your Jiu-Jitsu journey: how scared were you before your first class?

If you're like most people, starting Jiu-Jitsu was one of the bravest, most terrifying things you've ever done. But today, going to Jiu-Jitsu is just another routine for you. It's no more unusual than doing the laundry.

That's because you normalized practicing Jiu-Jitsu. It went from just a thought, to something you were seriously considering, to something you tried, to something you do repeatedly. And as the saying goes, “We are what we do repeatedly.”

Habits are a form of normalization. We know how important consistency is for learning Jiu-Jitsu. When consistency becomes a habit, we overcome the inertia of scary, unusual things. It's easier to keep habits going when we've already got the momentum.

If we want to achieve difficult things, our best strategy is to make those difficult things become normal. Excellence is not an attribute, it's a habit.

Normalizing good Jiu-Jitsu culture

Understanding the concept of normalization is also key to building a great Jiu-Jitsu culture.

It only takes one toxic person to ruin a team. If someone behaves unacceptably and refuses to stop, we must remove them immediately.

We cannot allow bad behavior to become normalized. The first time someone crosses the line, it's a shock. The second time, not so much.

If allowed to continue, the window of acceptable behavior will slide in the wrong direction. Once bad culture becomes “normal,” it's even harder to fix it.