At home and work, I think differently. I’m surrounded by amazing humans who are more alike than different, and I’m more different than alike. Choose your assessment, it will confirm my experience; the bars, lines, and dots are similar for most. Then there’s mine… it’s distinctly different.
While these differences make us great compliments to one another in many ways, it also can feel tremendously isolating being the outlier when the majority conform with one another. It also requires energy to communicate when surrounded by people who echo the same beliefs. Within that echo chamber, I find myself hitting mute to conserve energy as soon as I begin to doubt myself when the majority rules.
I refuel knowing individuality is a gift, not a flaw.
This empowers me to challenge norms and inspire change. I believe history’s greatest minds were once outsiders, and I also believe well behaved women (people) rarely make history.
I’m unwilling to shy away from my distinctiveness. To remain buoyant I have to spend time with like-minded souls who appreciate my perspective, giving me energy in return. I believe uniqueness is a superpower, and by embracing it, better outcomes result. A homogenous world would be boring, static and would die, missing things due to the comfort of group-think.
Being an outlier can be daunting, but it’s also what makes each of us extraordinary. Though it can be exhausting, the only way to affect change is to get uncomfortable.