You Are Not Average

In the 1920s, Air Force cockpits were designed for the "average man." Using many dimensions of pilots at the time, they created the spacing for the seat and everything they needed to reach according to the average of those measurements. Over time, they started to notice that pilots were having trouble flying the planes. And by trouble, I mean people were crashing and dying at an alarming rate. The Air Force concluded in the 1950s that this must be due to outdated measurements and so they tasked Lieutenant Gilbert Daniels with measuring the dimensions of more than 4,000 pilots.

After taking all the measurements and finding the average, he compared it to all 4,000 pilots with the assumption being that the majority would fall into the average dimensions on most of the measurements, and many would fall into the average on all. What he discovered was that zero pilots fit the average. 

Zero. 

In an attempt to fit everyone, they designed a cockpit that fit no one. Lory Hough writes in her article, Beyond Average, "even when just three dimensions of size were picked, fewer than 3.5 percent of the pilots fell within the range defined by Daniels as average." The Air Force finally realized they needed to stop measuring to the average, and start measuring "'to the edges,' meaning a cockpit that would be adjustable for even the extremes - the tallest or the shortest, for those with wide or narrow chest." From that research, adjustable seats were born. 

Once the adjustable seats were installed, the number of "mishaps" started to decrease. According to a Rand Research Report, "the number of destroyed aircraft per 100,000 flying hours dropped from an average of approximately 23.6 for every 100,000 flying hours during the 1950s to 4.3 during the 1960s." 23.6 to 4.3. Lives were saved because they stopped trying to fit people into an average, and started accommodating for who they actually were. 

What have you been trying to fit into lately? Do you have some average "measurements" that you're trying to match? If you are, it's time to set those expectations aside. You are not average. No one is. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we can start accommodating all our individual needs and celebrate the uniqueness that we each bring to the table.