“The biggest challenge in life is to be yourself in a world that is trying to make you like everyone else.”
Too often, we try so hard to be someone we admire. Don't copy someone's success because you are not them. And they are not you. Trying to be someone you are not will always leave you feeling inadequate or unfulfilled. What is more important to life than being yourself (or loving who you are)? God has made each of us in His Image and we are all uniquely different human beings. There is nobody else in the world with the exact same thumbprint as you.
Don't worry if you cannot speak like Anthony Robbins or write like JK Rowling or sing like Mariah Carey or play basketball like Michael Jordan. You can learn from their successes.
The most important thing you can copy is to learn their WHY and the reason behind someone's success. Learn their philosophy and mindset that they have in order to achieve their success today.
Don't worry about what the rest of the world think of you.
Are you limited by the fear of what other people think of you? When you think people are thinking of you, they are in fact not at all. People are too occupied thinking about themselves and their own lives to be thinking about yours.
If you are finding yourself spending too much time and energy thinking about what others think about you, you may be creating an unhealthy habit that can be detrimental to your success.
Stop worrying and instead ask yourself a few questions to define yourself.
“Fulfillment in life only comes from living your truth, doing your values or pursuing your dreams.”
Living your Truth
Are you pretending to be someone else? Are you living to the expectations and definitions of the people around you?
An at early age, we seek constant approval and validation. I wonder what he will think of me. I wonder if she will like me. Too many times, we live a life according to what our parents want us to be, what out friends, our professors, our government, the media want us to be.
You can't force everyone on planet Earth to like you but you can learn to like yourself. You are not brought to this world to live up to the expectations of others but God alone.
When you are living up to someone's expectations, you are living life with fear. It is only when you stop trying to impress others, you can express your true self more fully and connect with people more genuinely and openly. The less time you can spend on worrying about what others think of you, the more time you can spend on things that really matter.
Steve Jobs beautifully puts it:
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
You do not have the obligation to live up to someone's expectations. Let go of living up to people's expectations and start owning your life. Don't let their opinions distract you. You have only one life, one chance to live, start living your way of life. It's time to live your truth!
Your Value System
“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”
If you ask someone to describe you in one sentence, what would that be?
Your values are things that you believe are important in the way you live. You will notice that different people have different values. This is determine by the things they do in life. For example, an award winning actress will have different values than a life saving surgeon than a respected musician.
When you define and identify your personal values, you discover what's truly important and close to you. A good way to start is to reflect on your life and to identify when you felt really confident that you were making good choices in life.
Identifying your values might be challenging but it is important as your values will act as a guiding force to point you in the right direction when making decisions in life.
Your Dream
What is your dream in life?
Many live through life giving up on their dreams. When you are working hard to achieve your dreams, you will realize that there will be some who will support you and many others who will laugh at you or put you down at first.
Have you heard the joke about a guy wanting to build a privately funded rocket and launch it into outer space? Or the guy who wanted to connect everyone in the world with the internet? Or the guy who wanted to start a new airline during the dot-com crash? Or the guy who wanted everyone in the world to have their personal computer? How about the guy who bought 160 acres of orange groves to build what he wanted to call 'the happiest place on Earth'?
Most people laughed when SpaceX, Facebook, Jetblue, Microsoft and Disneyland business plans were discussed.
Civil rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi once said:
“People laugh at revolutionist, or extraordinary achievers or crazy people who goes against the status quo at first. But if you believe in your dreams or vision, don’t let the masses deter you from achieving greatness in life.”
When faced with resistance, we give up on pursuing our dreams. Most of us are not willing to pay the price to achieve our dreams. Being exceptional requires uncommon discipline, extra effort, and unwavering mental toughness. If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.
Have a dream so big that is scares you and be persistent in achieving your dream.
Closing Thoughts
Stop worrying about what others think of you and set your mind on Christ.
Be yourself and stop trying so hard to be someone else.
Be authentic. Be the person you were meant to be.
Dream big and don't let the naysayers stop you.
After all, happiness is being yourself and living life your own way.