“Being Different” Obsession

“Don’t be afraid of being different, be afraid of being the same as everyone else.”

“Why fit in when you are born to standout?”

“I’m not like others.”

“Let’s not be a sheep.”

Since I’m a millennial who loves going through contents of self-improvement, I too find many encouraging words  floating around on the internet to promote being different.However, lately I’ve been wondering what it really means  to “Be Different”.

Is being different all about choosing unpopular career option? Is it about making an impact through innovation? Is it about being adventurous? Is  it about getting uncommon hair color? Who are those sheep I need to be aware of? When is the person really different?

There’s is obviously no standard of “being different” ,but I think “Being Different” is what we call when we choose to live a life in the way people around us don’t. In a society full of photographers, one can be termed as different if he/she is an engineer. Among people changing world by guiding travelers , the one with PhD in medical science might be called different.  A gang of boy with makeup on their face may entitle a girl with undone eyebrows as different.

Why is there such hype about being different? Does different means special?

We are at a transitory time in history when the technological development is skyrocketing,  information is being transferred abundantly, and jobs are changing.We no longer bound ourselves to a state; we are global citizens.We are  largely different from the previous generation who surround us in terms of our lifestyle,way of communication, source of entertainment and so on,but if you think about it, we aren’t any special.  We are working on or using things that time has gifted us with. Just because one is doing something that makes no sense to forefathers doesn’t mean he/she is extraordinary.  We are just going with the flow:refining or completely changing whatever our ancestors had thought on or worked for, and focusing on learning skills which will assist us in making a better world.

So, bright minds, there’s no point in boasting about “being different”. It’s all a part of evolution. Happy being mainstream 😉