Rumpo, Rumpere, Rupi, Ruptus

Rumpo, rumpere, rupi and ruptus are Latin words and roots meaning to break, as in “interruption” or “disruptive.” We likely assume these words to have negative connotations based on how we commonly heard these words growing up. Parents frequently tell children how rude it is to interrupt others, and teachers frequently tell students not to be disruptive in their classrooms. However, both are essential in regards to driving change and innovation.

Challenging what’s “normal” is how change is facilitated. Normal is comfortable because it doesn’t mess with our expectations. Normal is predictable and in that predictability lies the comfort of knowing what to expect. Most people aren’t bothered by things when everything goes according to plan; when everything is normal. Normal is often confused with “good.” If everything is normal then things must be good. The people we tend to admire most in our personal lives and in society are not the people who accept normal as being a good thing. They see normal as not enough. They aim to break the bonds of normal in order to search for what it means to be better.

The trick here is feeling worthiness that we are enough, whilst also desiring to push ourselves beyond into something more. Life is good. It’s a simple motto and it’s true. However, what’s also true is what makes it good is knowing that all life is fleeting. Self-improvement is not about proving our worth, it’s about improving our worth. Improvement for the sake of being disruptive to what we define as normal or comfortable.

Innovators, elite athletes, virtuoso musicians and creative geniuses are disruptive by nature because they don’t seek comfort. They aim to apply pressure to the boundaries of expectation and possibility. Even those that seek enlightenment. They too know that there is no known limit to enlightenment. They are disruptive in their pursuit of expanding their understanding of what it means to be enlightened. May we all interrupt our regularly scheduled programming today and aim to be disruptive!