Be Unique!

Rollo May was a well known psychiatrist who wrote a book titled “Man’s Search for Himself.” He said in his book that the opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice … it is conformity.


Conformity is a misunderstood word. A few months back I wrote a blog post about harmony. I wrote that everybody is looking for harmony. Whatever else they may believe they are seeking, it really comes down to harmony. I also stated that the problem surges when we confuse conformity with harmony.

You see, conformity is a force that stagnates one’s tendency toward natural growth. When we begin to place more value on learning to conform to the accepted norms of society, we inhibit our natural desire to grow and be inspired.

We say children are so often rebellious. I say it is more that their spirit is seeking to express itself, as it was meant to do. By stifling that creative, expressive urge, we cause a blockage in what is only natural. I’m not suggesting we allow children free reign, either. Much of this “expression” is nothing more than experimenting with conformity to negative influences.

We all went through the same experience. Are you courageous enough to go for YOUR dreams? Or did you learn to “control” your expressive self until it eventually withered into atrophy? For the majority of us, our creativity has been severely hampered by our experience of growing up.

Well, it’s time now, as an adult, to step back and reevaluate your life. Like old outdated clothing styles, it may be time to shed much of your ingrained conditioning. Think about what tendencies you have that really are not serving your growth and freedom.

How much of your present behavior is based on ideals that only serve to inhibit your potential for a better life? Don’t accept your situation or character for what it is, only because it is. It can change. YOU can change. You are not cast in stone. You are malleable and plastic.

If you are not sure how to inspire a change that you wish to see, you can begin by looking to those who you feel are living that experience. Isn’t this just conforming to another ideal? To some extent, yes, but I’m not saying you have to copy that person.

You are to look to them for inspiration. When you can see the qualities that make them who they are, you can search for those very same qualities in your own being. They are there. If they did not also exist in you, you would never have been able to observe them in that other individual.

You have infinite potential, but this doesn’t mean to say that you are using it. The first step is always to bring your awareness to it. Then you must contemplate it. As you begin to contemplate it, it will, of its own accord, begin to grow. This growth is taking place in you. You are now becoming more of your own person, through self discovery. That in itself is very rewarding.

We’ve all heard this advice in different forms. “She dances to the beat of a different drummer.” “Take the road less traveled.” “Follow your own path in life.”

Don’t simply think about it, or even only talk about it. Do it. Or as Nike famously says, “Just do it!” Be yourself. Do something that only you can do as well as you. Sometimes this requires a learning curve, but do take that curve. Be your own master, and then you can show the world something they have never seen before, at least not in the way that you can show them. This is service of the highest order.





Enjoy your SELF,

Jeffrey Brandt

Author of Close Your Eyes to Find Your Way: A Guide to Discovering Your Higher Self.





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