Dare to be you. Yourself. Your very own self

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.- Oscar Wilde

There will never be anyone else like you in the future of the universe. There has never been anyone exactly like you since human life began. That’s why being yourself is more important than anything else; certainly more than the fear that traps people into conforming.

So here we are : Being yourself  and why it is important in becoming the most you that you can possibly be.

1. Breaking away from the norm. Being a high-quality you. From an early age we are taught to “be yourself”. But as we go through school and transitions of life we kind of form back into one another. During those times.. if you are somewhere that pushes you to be the same…. It can be difficult to well, “find your own”.

You see… everyone wants to be different.. but nobody wants YOU to be different. In my hometown I was outcast at times for being different.. for even at times being too happy or for whatever other reasons people could create. It wasn’t until I left that I realized .. everyone is really just afraid.. of being different themselves.. so it seems easier to make fun of the people actually being different in thoughts that you might scare them into wanting to remain the same as you & everyone else. For me – Austin became a place that showed me that I could not only be myself but that people love you for being yourself. Being different and being able to express yourself will in turn be one of the most profound things that happens to you. The world doesn’t want you to be happy on your own, they want you to depend on items or other people or buying things to make you happy, it’s what makes the world go round. But remember, being happy on your own without other things, that is where you begin to see how things really work.

2. It isn’t until you lose fear of being different that you begin to create work you are actually proud of. No matter what kind of “thing” you create… this rule applies. When you are pressured to be the same as everyone else.. the things you create or whatever you put your energy into just in turn looks the same as everything else.

3. Being interesting is what people like. It seems really simple right? People like interesting.. and it is the people who are themselves and express that .. who end up creating really great things.. think of anyone great.. The Beatles.. Dali… Einstein.. Aristotle.. I mean as far back in time as we can look. The people who created the things that remain to this day were the ones who were different than everyone else. The ones who expressed the things they were passionate about in their very own way.

4. You have the ability to be great. When you realize this – the world is yours. I watched the speech Ashton Kutcher gave recently and was impressed by his ability to pass on such beautiful words. You see he mentioned something we should all remember. The people who created the world around us… the people who have been great like all the people I mentioned above.. are no different than you and I. They merely harnessed the ability to be themselves. If everyone was really “themselves” and not what everyone else wants us to be.. I believe the world would be full of so much greatness that the cosmos might explode into an orchestra of the most beautiful visual music ever before seen. We each have the ability to be great. To be different. “Don’t live your life.. build your life”.

So the theme for today is – Be yourself. Whatever you do.. make.. build.. write.. make it yours. Not somebody else’s. Make it unique and you. That is what separates you from the rest of the world.

Being yourself.. is how you will really live and define a life you are proud of. You can’t really ask for much more.

This article was originally written by Sarah for letsbelost