Uniqueness Is Overrated – Stick to Your Guns

Anyone get the tbs reference? Anyway, on to more important things…

“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.” -T.B. Macaulay

One of the hardest things to deal with is the pressure to fit in. No one wants to be lonely, so they try to fit in whenever possible. Whether it’s at school or at work, it’s impossible to avoid. You are always going to be influenced by those around you.

Everyone stresses the importance of standing out and being unique. But this philosophy is highly overrated. Why? Life is not a matter of setting yourself apart from the crowd.  No, it’s about finding your own crowd. With over 6 billion people in the world, do you honestly believe that you can make every aspect of your life unique to those around you?

Why would you want to be completely different than those around you in the first place? Wouldn’t this lead to alienation? Haven’t you ever been somewhere where you felt you didn’t belong? Why would you want to constantly feel alone?

I don’t believe in uniqueness. I believe in character.

As T.B. Macaulay said, what you would do if you were never found out. That doesn’t mean make yourself different than everyone around you. That means sticking to your guns. Don’t mold yourself to match those around you. Don’t conform.

Ask yourself these questions:

Who do you want to be?

What would you do if you were on an island all by yourself?

People will come in and out of your life, but you are always there. You are the one who has to live with yourself, day in and day out. So look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? What would you change?

Uniqueness is about looking at everyone around you and being different.

Character is about you.

Which do you want?

What do you think? (get it? ) Leave a comment and send your feedback to ordinarytooutstanding@gmail.com

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