Day 245 (Two-Hundred & Forty-Five) of 365 days

Have you ever heard about ‘peer group pressure’? ‘Peer group pressure’ means the influence of your friends on you. If your friends have the habit of being careless in their dressing, or in being distracted in class, do you also behave like them? Or do you dare to be different from them and dress neatly and pay attention in class? Suppose your friends tell you that if you are not behaving like them, they won’t let you be their friend. Even then, yes, you should have the courage to tell them – ‘sorry, but this is what I want to do. Let me do it.’ That is how you ‘dare to be different. If you dare to be different, if you dare to stand up for what you think is right, then nobody can lead you in the wrong way. this is the quality that will make you say a firm ‘no’ if your friends encourage you to smoke. It is the same quality that will help you achieve great heights in life.

Daring to be different does not only mean ‘having the courage to say no’. it also means having the courage to say ‘yes’ when you think you have to say yes, because of what you believe in. suppose you walk along the road and see an old man fall. Other people are just walking by without helping him to get up because everyone is in a hurry. If you also walk by just because others are doing that, even when you know that you should be helping the old man to get up, then you are not daring to be different.

But it is not easy. When you swim in a river, it is very easy to swim with the current. But it is not easy to swim against the current. It takes a special effort and will if you have to swim against the current. The same here. it is very easy to go along with everybody else and do what everybody else does. It is not easy to do things that everybody does not do. It is difficult. It is difficult to be different.

If you want to change things, you need to rattle some cages, shake things up, and go for the bold. You have to find the edge. And, then push past it. The way to change the world, or at least your world, is to dare to be different. When you dare to be different, you step out of the mould, and you make space for your creative twists. When you dare to be different, sometimes you stand alone. But alone is where your unique creative contribution can thrive. It’s what leaders, great artists, and inspiring minds, do. They take us beyond the edges of conformity to pave brave new frontiers.

Always question WHY. Just because everybody else is doing it, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea or even that it’s working.
Breaking the rules is not for the meek designer or timid client. It takes guts to go against the industry norms. Fear breeds an attitude of, ‘Everybody else is doing it so I should probably do it, too.’
But ask yourself: Is there a valid reason why everyone is doing it or is everyone doing it just because everyone else is doing it? The creative anarchist always questions why.” Any positive disruption is a creative act, and what holds us back from daring to be different, and being the catalyst for positive disruption, is fear.

I dare to be different. I am not afraid of not following the crowd. I am not ashamed to admit that I would rather spend my Saturday nights studying, than out partying with my friends. I do not allow others opinions of myself, to change how I feel about myself. I am confident, and I do not allow struggles to bring me down. I can overcome any and everything that gets in my way, simply because I am not afraid. I am not afraid to speak up in a crowd or take a stand for issues I feel strongly about. I am not afraid to make mistakes; instead, I am grateful for every opportunity to learn something new.

With advanced levels of emotional intelligence, you can almost dare to be as different as you like, because you will have the self-awareness and skills to manage yourself effectively, as well as the empathy and presence of mind to communicate and collaborate with others in a way that they find stimulating, productive and awesome, rather than whacky, ill-considered and off-beat.

When you dare to be different, you are showing your creativity, innovation and vision, which is great. And you may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s a fantastic thing.