October 25, 2025
Sometimes the Thought of the Day and Question of the Day feel like they were meant to walk hand in hand, and today’s pairing does exactly that. Between Voltaire’s warning about belief and power and the question of who defines “normal,” we’re forced to stare right into the strange machinery of human behavior, culture, and control.
It’s a good day to ask: are we truly thinking for ourselves, or just renting space in someone else’s version of reality?
🧠 Thought of the Day
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” — Voltaire
Voltaire said this more than two centuries ago, but it might as well have been posted on X this morning.
Belief is powerful. Dangerous, even. Once someone convinces you that something absurd is true, that up is down, that kindness is weakness, that “they” are the problem, it’s just a short trip down the road to doing harm in the name of good intentions.
What’s wild is how easy it is to get swept up in the current. One emotional headline, one viral post, one person in authority telling you, “This is how it is,” and suddenly we’re all marching in the same direction, waving flags we didn’t even know we were carrying.
We like to think we’d never fall for absurdities, but the truth is, we all have. Maybe it wasn’t political propaganda. Maybe it was a toxic relationship where we believed we weren’t enough. Or a job that convinced us burnout was a badge of honor. Absurdities come in all shapes, sizes, and slogans.
The antidote? Curiosity. The willingness to pause before reacting, to ask: Who told me this? and Who benefits if I believe it?
If that kind of reflection feels uncomfortable, it should. Growth usually starts where comfort ends.
You might like this reflection from “When You Think You Are Too Old to Do Something New”, because sometimes breaking the absurdity starts with believing in yourself again.
❓ Question of the Day
Who decides what’s “normal”?
Normal is a moving target, one that changes depending on who’s holding the dartboard.
What’s “normal” for you might be bizarre to someone else, and vice versa. The problem is that most of us spend a lot of time chasing someone else’s version of normal.
We do it in how we dress, how we parent, how we work, and even how we think. We trim our edges to fit the box, then complain about how cramped it feels. But here’s the thing, there’s no universal standard of normal. There’s just the collective illusion of it.
At some point, “normal” became a way to make people feel safe, but also a way to keep them in line.
“Be normal” really just means “don’t make me uncomfortable.”
And if we’re being honest, most of history’s innovators, artists, thinkers, and truth-tellers would’ve been considered deeply abnormal in their time. Voltaire himself probably wouldn’t pass the “normal” test on social media today.
So maybe the better question is: Why do I still care so much about being normal?
If you’re lucky, the answer will lead you to something more authentic—something weird, real, and undeniably you.
(You might also like “What Do You Think People Misunderstand Most About You?”, which gets right to the heart of individuality.)
When you put today’s Thought of the Day and Question of the Day side by side, the message is clear: thinking freely is both a responsibility and a rebellion. The world doesn’t need more people who are “normal.” It needs more people who are awake, people who notice when the absurd is being sold as truth, and who aren’t afraid to stand up, speak out, or simply say, “Wait a second…”
Because the moment you stop letting others define “normal,” you start writing your own definition of truth.
And that’s where freedom begins.
💬 Join the Conversation
Who decides what’s “normal” in your world, and do you ever challenge it?
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