Dare to be Different

Dare To Be Different

One of the things my Dad always said to me while I was growing up was “be different.”

In our teenage years, we tried to fit in, tried to be like other people.
 We compared ourselves to those around us.
We were trying to make sense of the world.
What was right or wrong, cool or uncool, what we should or shouldn’t do were all based on
what other people were doing.
We based our judgement on societal norms.

Each time that I backed my argument or request with something that suggested that,

I want this or it’s supposed to be this way because the majority of people are doing it this way

Dad would counter-argue

Yes, but are most people successful?
Are the majority successful?
 No.
Then why would you want to be like others?
If you act, think, and do things like the majority of people,
then you’ll end up being like the majority of people”.

Dad always encouraged me to challenge the status quo,
to challenge the norm, to be different, to think about the impossible.
 He encouraged me to create, to act, to pave a new path for myself,
 and to take the road less traveled.

Time and time again, you are influenced by the environment you are in and
 by the people around you – it is human nature to want to fit in.
We forget that we don’t need to take the road that everyone else is taking.
The traffic is bad where most people are, you know.
Build a new road.
 It’s going to take awhile to pave a new path.
 But when the road is done and you can travel on it, others can follow you too.
You will help others avoid the traffic.
You will have built the world a new road.

Will you plant more trees and roses along the side of that new road?
Or will you leave it behind with junk?
 Will you build a new community where people can build shops and houses?

That’s totally up to you.