It's Good To Be Different

Dance life your way.

Years ago, I wanted to do something different to my hair, and I was worried about it.

“It’s no big deal,” I told myself. “It grows out. Hardly anyone will see it.”

But I kept putting it off. I think I was worried about what people would say.

And that made me wonder—when did that happen—the worry, I mean?

When does it happen when we decide not to do something that we are called to do—as small as changing hair color to as big as a career change—because of what other people might say?

When and how do we decide to be who we are?

I was watching a video of the brilliant comedian and ventriloquist Nina Conti.

Afterward, I wondered, “How did she decide to be herself?”

Not just in her work but in how she presents herself.

A video titled Let’s Dance highlights and honors various dancers and their dance styles.

How did each of these dancers find what made them different?

When did they decide to express their uniqueness and not be like everyone else?

One thing I know they all have in common is that they had role models.

They all had someone who inspired them, led them to master their craft, and guided them in expressing what made them different.

Some might say, “I have no one like that in my life, which is why I can’t be who I want to be.”

I know that’s not true because we have all received that gift.

It is part of the circle of life.

We all have guides and mentors who have led us into our craft, our mastery, and into expressing our differences and our uniqueness.

Sometimes, we find them in a book, a classroom, a poem, a coffee shop, their studios, or our homes.

Just look, you will find them, and you will discover that they have always been there.

Plus, if you look, you will find that you, too, are a guide and mentor to others. You are! Look, you’ll see!

Something else that all those that we admire for their differences and uniqueness have in common is their decision to be students and to perfect what they do.

They choose to become masters of their craft and individual expressions of their mastery.

This brings me back to the rest of us, and I have a few questions to ask.

• Have we chosen to be masters of whatever craft is calling to us in our lives, and then are we deciding to pursue that craft as the unique expression of who we are?

It seems to me that is one secret of life's success, no matter how you define it.

• Are we living life as we are, or are we adapting to the way other people do it so that we will fit in?

The funny thing is that we honor those who don’t fit in and are masters at their craft and unique individuality, but we allow ourselves to slide back and disappear into mass conformity.

It doesn’t matter what we choose to be masters at because, in actuality, it has chosen us.

All we have to do is accept it and let it lead us to both the mastery and the expression of its individuality.

One craft is not better than another. Each unique piece is necessary for the whole, fitting like the perfect puzzle piece into the expression of life.

Therefore, a little thing like streaks in my hair—I chose blue that day—may not be a big deal, but it helped open the door to a more pure expression of my individuality.

What have you been thinking of doing that differs from what you do now?

Are you going to write a book your way, paint your ceiling a different color, walk a new trail, wear a different color, call someone you are afraid to call, sleep all day and work all night, find a new way to change diapers, or invent the next Tik Toc?

There are infinite ways that we are constantly being given the opportunity to live our individuality.

All we have to do is listen, take action toward what is calling us, and celebrate that we are all different. That’s how it is meant to be.

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. —Lucille Ball

Big Shifts come from little decisions. In the comments section, let us know what you will do differently this week. Then watch what happens from there and let us know!

Get inspired to dance your way: