One Size Fits All
I used to see that phrase all the time. Now advertisers have changed it to ‘one size fits most’. I reckon they realized the lawsuit potential for saying that one size would actually fit all.
Personally, I hate that saying. It communicates that everyone should be able to use the ‘all-fitting-thing’. Whether a hat, or sweats, or socks…
But more than just the actual phrase, I dislike the mindset. The mindset that says something should be a fit for everyone. Because those ‘one-size-fits-all’ things are anything but.
The hats never fit my oversized head. (seriously, I need a 7 3/4 size, they are never that large)
More than just clothes, this mindset seems to be everywhere. Something claiming to fit you and your life. When you start to look, it’s not hard to see it in action.
School. Work. Weight. Exercise. Religion. Marketing.
The reality is that one size never fits all. There is no one way to do school. No one way to work. No one weight that everyone should be.
Some people study hard.
Some don’t.
Some people work smarter.
Some don’t.
Some people go for a high paying job.
Some risk everything to start a business and fail.
Some people work to climb “the corporate ladder”.
Some risk it all to start a business and succeed.
Some people have ambition that is pushing them forward from birth.
Some seem to have no ambition at all.
How could someone possibly design anything that is “one size fits all,” when everyone, in almost every way that is measurable, is different?
(Ok, for all of you who just got hung on the detail of identical twins…they still aren’t the same. Just go ask one.)
No matter what ‘size’ you are, whether it’s
hat size
book smarts
business skill
job skill
writing skill
talking skill
sock size
internal drive
family size
whatever it is!!!
There is no truth to “one size fits all.”
Just today, actually, I got a phone call from an online company promising me that they had the magic bullet to market my company online. Just like every other company they called today. The didn’t know anything about my business, just making calls selling their “one size fits all” marketing system.
I got off that call in a hurry.
Each day is a new opportunity to create something unique. To create something that doesn’t turn people into commodities to fit into the AllOneSize system.
The next time you see something pitched as “one size fits all,” you can ask how it will actually fit for you. Or not, and just hope that something designed for the middle part of the curve will work for you too.
I believe my size fits me. And your size fits you.
