Embrace Your Weirdness
by Daryl Daughtry, Publisher
When actors are performing, they are told to “be authentic”. After all, the key to great acting is the ability to bring a character to life. Actors do that by tapping into their own personality, quirks, experiences, and emotions. Giving an authentic performance is tied to being an authentic person.
Likewise, to give your best personal performance in real life, you need to embrace your personal weirdness instead of trying to hide it. Weirdness here is just another way of saying uniqueness. After all, perhaps that unique individual within all of your quirks is the real you. So, are you willing to say yes to being your authentic self?
Dangerous But Necessary
Unfortunately, it seems like being yourself in today’s society is a bit dangerous as it can be a liability. After all, when you’re being yourself, you risk someone actually seeing who you really are. This might mean they’ll make fun of you or even reject you. On the other hand, they might just accept you because you seem to be more genuine.
When we try to blend in and have people see us as part of the “normal crowd”, we’re actually conforming to the expectations of others. We are hiding our unique selves in order to fit in and be generally accepted.
Instead of focusing on what might go wrong by unleashing our uniqueness, we need to think about what might actually go right. After all, weirdness leads us to who we actually are. When we unapologetically are true to who we are, then we inspire others to be true to themselves.
Have you ever been inspired by someone who was 100% normal? No, because those people aren’t noticeable or even interesting and blend quietly into the background.
Embracing Your Weirdness
If you’re ready to embrace your weirdness, here are some simple tips:
● Embrace discomfort. Be willing to embrace the discomfort that comes with being different or authentic.
● Pick your pain. Do you want the pain of not being your authentic self or the pain of not being like everyone else?
● Find your place. The purpose of life is to find ways to use your gifts and make a difference.
Keep in mind that turning on your weirdness is nothing like flipping on a switch, but it’s more like moment-by-moment choices along your journey. It begins with an awareness that you do have choices and you can get out of the trap of being “normal” by being more authentic to yourself.
Reasons to Embrace Your Weirdness
So what if you’re labeled as “weird” or “quirky”. Resist hiding that which makes you “weird” or “different”. Resist not wanting people to see it anymore because you want them to like and to accept you. Instead, allow yourself to embrace your weirdness.
Normal Does Not Exist
The truth is, we are all weird, which means that no one is weird. Personality is a colorful spectrum. There are some people who are loud, while others are quiet. Some are more analytical, while others are more creative. Some are more conservative, while others are more liberal.
Everyone doesn’t need to be like you and you don’t need to be like anyone else. There’s no such thing as a right or wrong way to be unless we are looking at good versus evil. There’s no such thing as normal. The only thing that genuinely exists is natural. So, it’s really a battle between normal versus natural.
Behaviors that are natural for one person may not be natural to someone else. So, stop worrying about trying to be “normal” or blending in with the rest of the crowd. Instead, acknowledge that normal doesn’t exist and find what is natural to you.
Weirdness Makes You Memorable
When we try to be “normal” and fit in with the rest of the crowd, the results we achieve are mediocre at best. No one wants to pay to see what they expect. They pay to see something that is fascinating and unexpected.
That thing that makes people call you “weird” is the thing that will make people remember you who are. It makes you more interesting because it’s a trait that others don’t have.
You won’t ever be remembered for doing the same thing that everyone else does. People will remember you for doing that thing that only you can do.
Weirdness Helps You Find Your Tribe
People follow crowds because they don’t want to be alone. However, when you embrace your weirdness, you stand out. Yet, this doesn’t have to equal loneliness. If you break away from the crowd, you’ll begin to notice others that are similar to you and they can become your tribe.
Unfortunately, many people never find their tribe. They’re afraid to embrace their weirdness and let go of what others define as “normal”. However, if you embrace your weirdness, you’ll find others that will stand beside you and inspire you to be you.
When people start calling out your differences, it’s easy to want to cover them up, isn’t it? Please don’t deny who you are. Embrace your weirdness.
God gave you fingerprints and your uniqueness that no one else has so you can leave an imprint on this world that no one else can.