Do you feel like you need to fit in with the crowd? Do what others do, dress as others do, do work that others approve of, date a certain kind of person so you fit in with the crowd? Do you prefer being seen as a rule follower so that your friends, family and neighbors don’t judge you? Or do you just want to be liked so much that you will sacrifice your own ideas, dreams and passions for others’ approval?
God forbid that we are disliked.
The people in the world who are making big & small change in business, life, love and family do one thing other people don’t. Do you know what that is? They don’t care that they are different or have different ideas. They play by their own rules and do not subscribe to the idea that they should fit in above all else.
Since I was young, I have been told by friends and family that I should be a certain way. Society teaches us as children that we should be good girls & boys and also teaches us that we should avoid being perceived as “bad” at all cost. If you choose to be different, you can be socially outcast, bullied or heavily gossiped about. It happens to adults as well.
As a business owner, I am constantly being judged about what I should or should not be doing. If I paid attention to all that, I would just be spinning in a world of “shoulds” in order to be liked. The thing is, I just don’t freaking care! It’s not that I don’t care about people: I care deeply about others. I am called to be of service. I will show up for anyone who asks me to, but I won’t do things just because other people think I should. As I become more focused on my own goals and their pursuit, I am also getting better and better at cutting out the distraction provided by others’ unsolicited opinions and advice. In doing so, I am feeling happy and more whole and inspired in my own life.
We are not taught how to forge our own paths, how to go against the grain, how to follow our own passions or desires. To do what lights us up versus what society sees as our best purpose. Everybody has opinions about what you should wear, what you should consume, who you should hang out with or even what you should aspire to in your career, but I am so over it. I am over being someone else for other people. Over the past three or so years, I have really come to understand how I have limited my life because I didn’t want to be different or judged. It’s not that I no longer have insecurities or doubts, but I am no longer motivated by a desire to fit in. I would rather just be me.
Allow for your own uniqueness to shine. Be who you want to be. Strive for the life YOU want and not what others want for you or want you to be. Get your freak on if you that’s what really lights you up. Dive into the great unknown of yourself and see what shows up. If there are people in your life that are going to judge you for being different than they want, so be it. That is about them, not about you. Once you start to understand that no one else decides how best to be you, it will be easier to find, celebrate and use your strengths and gifts 🙂
Please! Go be (amazing) you.
Noelle
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