We are all unique. Sometimes, it’s the things that set us apart from others that feel like the worst bits of us. But it’s probably because, at one point, someone shamed you for it.
Too often people shy away from being their true selves, of celebrating their uniqueness and instead fall prey to societal or familial influences on what they should be.
Embrace Your Uniqueness
You are unique, you are an individual and these things should be celebrated throughout your life. Each and every day. You need to embrace your uniqueness because it’s part of what makes you the person you are, and you’re a person worth knowing.
Uniqueness Is Important
Why does uniqueness matter? It isn’t just about standing out; it’s that when you stand out for embracing your uniqueness, you become a more interesting person. More importantly, you can leverage that unique value, inspire others, and attain what you want by using your power. Uniqueness is part of you, and it’s important because you need it to be authentic. And authenticity breeds happiness.
Embrace Diversity
We are all different, and that is beautiful. We all have our own purposes and paths to discover, and we are uniquely equipped to walk those paths. Some people are natural leaders, some are thinkers, some are doers, and these people have a head start on what it takes to do those things. The point is you can apply your unique abilities to tackle the things that interest you. You can bring your uniqueness to the table to live the life you want to.
Accept Your Story
You have probably spent your entire life trying to conform because that’s what society guides us to do. That can make it incredibly difficult to accept your uniqueness. But accepting your story is important. It shaped the person you are now, for better or worse.
There are a bunch of different experiences and voices battling it out within you, and those voices and thoughts come from all these different sources.
Your parents, old teachers, friends, family, and television too. You’ve been influenced by other people from the moment you were born. It’s part of your story, and you can’t embrace your uniqueness until you embrace your story. Do you know your story? Do you really know who you are? If not, you need to find out. Learning who you really are is the only way to embrace your own uniqueness.
Fight Your Fear
Are you afraid of standing out? Are you afraid of rejection? Is there fear in expressing your opinion, in failing, in missing out? What is it that you are afraid of? Whatever it is, you need to fight it. You can’t dare to be different if you are allowing your fears to hold you back.
Identify Your Unique Points & Celebrate Them
This is your opportunity to grab a pen and some paper and write down what it is that makes you unique. How can you embrace it if you aren’t even aware of it yet? Think about what others say about you, what they criticize you for, what gifts you have naturally, your story, your preferences, skills, and what excites you.
Often, our uniqueness is misunderstood and criticized. Sometimes traits get labeled as negative because they’re misunderstood or because others are jealous. Forget what you’ve heard so far and think about your identity, and what it is that makes you unique. You deserve to accept every aspect of yourself and embrace it.
You Can’t Please Everyone
If you have identified your uniqueness, but you’re afraid to embrace it fully because you’re worried about what other people will think… stop. No matter what you do, you will never please everyone, and you shouldn’t bother trying. The person you should focus on making happy is yourself. As long as you are being your authentic self, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks.
Don’t Give In To Expectations
If you’re caught up following in someone else’s footsteps, but you’re miserable… what are you doing? If it isn’t making you happy, you have to ask yourself why you’re doing it. There’s a good chance you’re doing it because of other people’s expectations. It’s never too late to change. You can avoid giving into external expectations by knowing your personal values, living in alignment with those values, and following your expectations.
Love Yourself
Nothing so far has been easy, and while this might sound like it should be, it’s another challenging task. It’s easy to say just love yourself, but it’s not easy to make it happen when you’ve spent a lifetime doing anything but.
Remember, you will always be a work in progress because the beautiful thing about life is that we’re always growing. As long as you are evolving, you should feel proud of who you are. That mentality will help you accept your flaws and embrace yourself for who you are.
Embrace Your People
Don’t underestimate the power of good people. Whether it’s your family or friends, embrace your people. Your people should be the ones who lift you up and encourage you to embrace your uniqueness. The truth is that people that really care about you will want you to be your real self, they will appreciate your uniqueness and they will thank you for it.
They should make you feel good, they should encourage you, they should motivate you, and they should also be willing to correct you if necessary. Getting comfortable with criticism is a helpful tool, and it can help you do better, which is never a bad thing.
Express Your Skills
The world will see your uniqueness in your actions. When you act, it’s an expression of your skills and qualities. Express yourself where your interests lie, and you will soon see your authenticity manifest.