"No one deserves to be like everyone else!" - Futurist Jim Carroll
Futurist Jim Carroll is using his Daily Inspiration blog post - one of which you are reading now - to generate material for a book he has in progress with the working title, "How to be Unique (And Why it Will Get You To Your Future Faster!)" This is one of those posts.
You should not be condemned to live a life that involves the sameness of other people - you deserve to be unique. After all, being unique will help you explore new ideas, practice innovative thinking, live within your imagination, and as a result, chase tomorrow.
But what if you don't think you possess the secret sauce of unique thinking? Is this something you can learn, a mindset you can develop, an attitude you can fertilize? Maybe so - by studying those who were born this way.
What is the mindset that allows people to be unique? It's many things. Try and practice these principles in all your daily affairs:
- be open to new experiences. Rather than shying away from the unknown, try to embrace it. We are taught to stay on a narrow path - give the path some twists and turns. Whenever you find yourself doing the same thing, ask yourself if you can do a different thing.
- play with your curiosity. Too many of us are taught from an early age, through the ideas of conformity, the need to fit in, to be one of the crowd, and that we should not stand out. This has the rather dismal effect of tamping down whatever creative curiosity juices we might possess. If you think about that and realize how your curiosity has been wrongfully diminished, you might consider trying to exercise it a little bit more, fire it up, and let it run its course.
- try new things. Curiosity is fertilized by new experiences, and new experiences coming from doing new things. People who have an open mind are willing to explore new adventures and try new ideas - they don't hold back!
- accept ambiguity. People who conform expect the world around them to be orderly; that everything should function according to plan; that there should be no surprises. But the world doesn't work that way - we live in a world of relentless volatility, constant surprise, and ongoing uncertainty. Embrace it, accept it, and live within it.
- be adaptable. It's all about adjusting to new conditions, new challenges, and opportunities. Fight the idea that might enter your mind that you should 'ride it out' - jump on board and give it an exhilarating go!
- be hyperaware. You should have a good idea of what's going on - get out of your narrow mind bubble. Make sure that you're aware of the small and big trends that might impact you so that you are willing to explore them. Watch for the small instant trends that might provide a moment of clarity on something new that is worthy of being chased.
- challenge your risk tolerance. Make sure that you are willing to fail, make mistakes, and live along the edges of marginal success. Don't just step out of your 'comfort zone' - establish new boundaries of constant discomfort!
- accept failure. Your risk mindset means that you are open to the idea of seeing your efforts go wrong - because you know that you can learn from failure. You also know that most failure is good failure - not something to run from, but something to lean into.
- learn to assess yourself. Make sure to take the time to understand your strengths and weaknesses, which will help you to align your future actions with your newly established goals. Do an attitude inventory - check this particular list and check it twice to see what you are missing in your mindset.
- be assertive in your attitude. Be confident in your thoughts, expressive in your opinions, and aggressive in your actions. The future does not reward those who are timid - it opens up to the bold!
- embrace your uniqueness. Don't hide from the idea that you need not be like everyone else. Let them be condemned to their sameness - live within your unique skin.
- be an extrovert at heart. Be willing to put yourself out there - unique people are proud people, and by being so, are willing to share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences as a way of encouraging others to 'discover the magic.'
- be full of courage. Don't hide from tomorrow, don't shy away from new experiences, and don't be afraid of new ideas. Being unique is all about banishing your fear of new stuff - dig deep to find the wells of courage that you might never know you had.
- focus on problem-solving. Part of your uniqueness is found in your ability to identify solutions in challenging situations - particularly in an offbeat way. Get into a mindset that there are never any barriers in the way, but walls to be demolished.
- foster an imagination on overdrive. Never think any idea is too crazy, that any concept is too dumb, or that any possibility is impossible. Live in the moments of your imagination, seeking the practical within the impractical. Simply put, always try to see the world differently.
- chase an independent way of thinking. You know that your way of making judgments and chasing ideas is what will often lead to creative breakthroughs.
- be highly motivated. Make sure you've got a strong internal drive to achieve goals, which can help you chase the innovative ideas of tomorrow, and drive the future-oriented actions that you need to blaze a new path.
- build massive resilience. Being unique is not an easy ride - make sure you can recover from setbacks and continue pursuing goals with determination - despite people calling you a whack job!
- possess unlimited resourcefulness. Rather than saying it can't be done, you simply find a way to do it.
Some people are born with the unique gift of being unique. That doesn't mean that you can't chase what they have, learn from what they've done, and pursue the ideas that they can generate. After all, it might be a situation in which you have the gift of uniqueness buried deep within your soul, and the culture of conformity that surrounds you has just beat it into hidden submission!
Understand what it is, why it is important, and how you can nurture it, and you might find that you've been a pretty unique person all along!
Futurist Jim Carroll believes in nonconformity.