I was at an outdoor event yesterday – including a “battle of the bands”. Watching one of the performers wearing outrageous clothes and acting out every motion in an epic way, the college students behind me all rolled their eyes and said, “What a weirdo” and “how ugly.’’
He was just awesome- juggling, balancing, and doing the moonwalk while playing soulful notes on guitar – and yes, he was a weirdo. He wasn’t like anyone else in the well-dressed crowd, but that does not make him ugly. He was immersed in his madness of gigs. Weird is a side effect of awesome. When you discover and live what makes you awesome, you definitely do stand out. When you stand out or go against the flow, some people think you weird.
I think the fear of being perceived as weird is what keeps so many people from discovering and living what makes them unique.
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken” – Oscar Wilde
It’s perfectly okay to be weird. As personality exists on a spectrum. There is no right or wrong place on the spectrum. We are different, we are born that way and we can’t help it. Being different leads to diversity. Being normal is boring but being natural is awesome.
The idea of being objectively normal was created to sell products and political agendas.
The truth is what you think is weird is your superpower. You just haven’t learned how to use this superpower to your benefits.
Instead of hiding your superpowers learn how to use it. Your shyness makes you a better listener and in turn a better person. Your introverted and analytical nature may help you write life changing stories and in turn will give you a chance to live glorious and happy life. But, maybe your extroverted nature help you become world class leader. Don’t die with the magic left in you.
Because our reality is the product of consciousness, being afraid of being different has real consequences in how we see the world. Maybe being different directly links to facing criticism or facing the judgment of people around.
We must acknowledge that the fear is there and it’s affecting us. From there, we can move on to understanding how this is affecting our perception of the world and from there, change occurs naturally. When we face it, we diminish it. We are not here to make clones. We are creators and also smartest animal present on earth.
What makes you weird, makes you memorable. Every great creative breakthrough– artistic, scientific, etc. by definition is weird because it gives a new dimension and requires a new way of thinking.
Embracing your weirdness gives you a new perspective, and the world needs new perspectives and ideas.
Innovation does not happen within the status quo. Innovation happens when new mistakes are made and an amazing creative spark comes and solves the problem. To live a creative life you must lose our fear of being wrong.
“Capital isn’t so important in business. Experience isn’t so important. You can get both these things. What is important is ideas. If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need, and there isn’t any limit to what you can do with your business and your life.”
— Harvey Firestone
Everything original seems weird at first. New ideas like biological mutations, fashion trends, dance forms, on the first impression, appear not to fit in. But as times go, biological mutations and those fashion trends and dance moves found purposes that weren’t expected. The new things are accepted because they give life to new perspectives.
In the world, conformity is the easiest option. Deep down everyone wants to be more real, but we all are afraid to be the first one.
Authenticity is in high demand. The World needs people of high integrity and authenticity.
Let’s say what makes you awesome is your ability to dream up amazing ideas– others tell you to be practical. But awesomeness means to live your potential.
“If you’re lucky enough to be different, don’t change” – Taylor swift.
What does it mean to be yourself or to be original when there’s so much pressure to “fit in”? It’s time to clue in on what it really means to just be you– and be perfectly happy about it.
There is only one of you in all the world, so why try to be someone you’re not?
We all are little weird and that’s OK… Take it from Ed Sheeran, Embrace your weirdness. In one of his speeches, he said, “Having things that make you different help you become interesting person…Most of the people I knew that were normal in school are all pretty dull right now. Most of the people that had successfully started life off as a weird kid with no friends.
“Your weirdness will make you stronger. Your dark side will make you whole. Your vulnerability will connect you to rest of your suffering world. Your creativity will set you free. There nothing wrong with you”- ANDREA BALT.
Courage is not the absence of fear, says Osho. It is rather, the total presence of fear, with the courage to face it. Osho proposes that whenever we are faced with uncertainty and change in our lives, it is actually a cause for celebration. Instead of trying to hang on familiar and known, we can learn to enjoy these situations as opportunities for adventure and for deepening our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Thus, courage is all we need, to change when change is needed, the courage to stand up for our own truth, even against the opinions of others, and the courage to embrace unknown in spite of our fears, and courage to acknowledge our imperfections.
None of us are getting out of from earth alive, so please stop regretting and stop treating yourself like an afterthought. You never know, when your journey on earth finishes so just, embrace your weirdness, your imperfections and beautiful broken parts because this states you have lived a life and not just survived. Eat the delicious food. Walk in the sunshine, don’t worry much on tanning, and tell the truth that you are carrying inside your heart like hidden treasures. Be weird, there is no time for anything else.
Have you ever thought that if one thing hadn’t happened, a whole series of things never would have, either? Like butterflies, in time, a single event kicked off an unstoppable series of changed gained momentum and spun out of control, and nothing was ever the same again. Don’t ever doubt that a mere second can change your life forever.
I used to feel frightened about what comes next. Even if good things occurred, fear of failure was so strong that it stopped me from celebrating those tiny moments which are not coming back again.
Wabi-sabi is an ancient aesthetic philosophy rooted in Zen Buddhism, particularly the tea ceremony, a ritual of purity and simplicity. The Japanese celebrate beauty in what’s natural, with flaws and all. It states the way of living that focuses on finding beauty within imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay. The antique bowls above are prized because of their drips and cracks.
What if we learned to prize the drips and cracks in our messy lives?
“Next time if you feel frightened about what comes next, don’t be. Embrace the uncertainty. Allow it to lead you to places. Be brave as it challenges you to exercise both your heart and your mind as you create your own path toward happiness, don’t waste time with regret”- Everwood.
I know, you struggle sometimes but in case I don’t tell you enough, you are beautiful. I would be so proud to know that you have grown to acknowledge your worth.
Never underestimate the power of your voice, your perspectives, and your uniqueness. That inexplicably divine cocktail of skills, perspectives, strength and quirks is a one-time event in the universe. There has never been, nor will there ever be, another you. So yes, you matter. And yes, the world really does need that special gift that only you have.
How can you learn to embrace being called weird so that you can bring your best to the world? It is worth the efforts.
Courage will come to you. Just start with a simple formula: Never miss the unknown. Even if you suffer, it is worth it- it will always pay. You shall be more mature, more intelligent.
