“To be nobody but yourself in a world doing its best to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human can ever fight and never stop fighting.” ~e.e. cummings
Most times when we think about “being different”, there is always that tendency of overthinking or overcomplicating it, and it’s really not our fault. From a general standpoint, the natural thing that comes to mind is looking for ways to stand out and be different from everyone around us. That’s a valid way of looking at it.
But very recently, being different has taken on a whole new meaning to me. I now look at it from a personal level without giving much consideration to how it measures up with my immediate or distant environment.
Being different for me has come to mean doing things differently than I’ve done before. it has come to mean beating my own records, exceeding my own expectations, and making conscious efforts to sustain the momentum.
If we’re being honest, there are habits and indulgences we have that we’re not so proud of but have come to accept as “that’s how I am.” One time, it took me a whole year to complete a 6-hour online course just because I kept procrastinating. The knowledge I got from that course after completing it has greatly helped my career. Deciding to be different from my procrastinating self moved the needle for me.
In a world where everybody seems to be in a cut-throat competition, you will find this concept so liberating. It is you competing with yourself and deciding what “being different” means. You’re just focused on making tiny improvements on a regular basis, so you become the best version of yourself.
Being different on your own terms works like magic.
