THE ART OF BEING UNIQUE

The art of being unique is a lesson I feel everyone can benefit from no matter how little our life experiences may differ from that of others. What we may dismiss as insignificant could make all the difference in identifying our unique point of view. I say this because I’m speaking from experience. Truth be told, whenever I speak on a subject matter, I usually do so from experience. As Les Brown aptly put it, “preach what you practice” as opposed to “practice what you preach”. Lucky for me, I was raised by a dad who encouraged me to be better via his own actions as opposed to impressing upon his expectations. Which meant if he asked you to do a house chore or something, chances are you’ve probably seen him do that chore himself on a number of occasions. For example, there was a certain time when my siblings and I avoided washing the dishes at all cost because we found it too much of a burden, lol. My dad would actually come back from work and clean up after us despite us being on holiday with little or nothing to do with our time if not play. I think it was a general feeling of embarrassment that met with us following his actions – knowing he went into work very early in the day and came home tired only to still clean up after us. It didn’t take long for us to not detest dish washing as much as we did and pick it up as a regular chore. But I digress.

I’m sure those of you who watch my “Coffee Diaries” series over on YouTube will have heard me mention on several occasions why it is important to focus on your story as it is what makes you unique. I’ve had people raise their concerns over how the blogging industry is saturated and how they might not succeed in this space, and my usual response to them is “there is enough success to go round”. But then again, success can sometimes be subjective. The truth of the matter remains that it doesn’t matter what industry you want to get into, chances are you’re not likely to be the first to go into it. Sometimes you’ll find that many have come before you but what will make you stand out from everyone else is the experiences you’ve had in life which you can draw from. This is the difference between being unique and being like everyone else.

Not so long ago I shared how not being able to afford traveling when I initially started blogging, made me see things a little differently. My caption on Instagram read;

“Although I do enjoy travelling, I’ve not always been able to afford it. But somehow, that turned out to be a good thing. I remember seeing lots of beautiful images which inspired me to work with what I have; in my case, Manchester. I started paying closer attention to my surroundings and the undiscovered beauty within it. Soon enough, I began to see Manchester in a different light which I captured and shared. I would get lots of messages saying ‘wow, this doesn’t look like Manchester’. But it sure was, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to appreciate what I’ve got more so than ever now.”

I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say when I first came into the world of blogging, I had no freaking clue as to what I was doing. I was mostly winging it and mimicking other folks who now when I think about it, were and are nothing like me in so many ways. But thankfully, the more I showed up wanting to better and work on myself, the more I focused on the things I cared about which in turn set me apart because my passion came through.

While success leaves clues, it is important not to lose ourselves in other people’s story as it is what made them successful to begin with. Rather, we need to go to their source which in this case would be their life experiences and then look inwards to see how we too can also draw from our own life experiences and better express ourselves in our everyday lives. Yes, many folks might have come before you, but you will still have a unique perspective in life and something to add to the conversation.

A couple of weeks ago, I summarised my thoughts on the subject matter on my Instagram post which read;

“If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this space, it would be my spirit. The one that makes you show up for yourself despite life’s many challenges. And as much as you take in the beauty you may find here, it is important to note that we are all on different paths in our journey through life. So be sure not to conflate that which I’ve chosen with yours, for true beauty comes with perspective and introspection. Something only you can see when you continue to show up for yourself”.

Thanks for reading “The Art of Being Unique”. As always, feel free to follow me on Instagram where I post daily and subscribe to my YouTube channel for weekly videos.

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