“You’re so weird!”

Have you ever heard that before?

If you really think about it, how many times in your life have you been insulted for just being different?

So often we are made to feel like there is something wrong with us when we don’t fit the ‘norm’ –  but why is that?

“When you’re the only sane person, you look like the only insane person.” ― Criss Jami.

I know as a child I went through a phase where I decided to wear everything I owned all at once, simply because I wanted to…

I remember turning up at primary school one morning and wondering why everyone was staring at me? I figured it must be because my many layers of necklaces looked so amazing against my multi-coloured t-shirt underneath my leotard, my pants and my tutu.

“They love my outfit too!” I thought to myself.

Here I was feeling like a princess wearing almost every piece of jewellery I owned just because I loved the way it sparkled so beautifully in the sun. When I wore it, I truly felt like royalty.

That was until I heard the snickering…

“What IS she wearing?” “Wow she looks funny”, “Oh my god she is so weird!?”

And it was at that moment I realised my new-found royal status was not quite what I expected.

I looked different.

I was weird.

And that was a bad thing.

I started to feel like I shouldn’t look different, or I’ll get teased.

So I stopped.

That night I put away my tiara in my overflowing jewellery box and I made a promise to myself – I wouldn’t be ‘weird’ anymore. I wouldn’t break out from the norm again because that wasn’t a good thing to do.

Instead I would be ‘cool’, just like everyone else.

Oh what a sad moment for such a hopeful little princess…

If only I could go back in time and tell myself how wonderful it was that I wanted to stand out from the masses!

“Be different so that people can see you clearly amongst the crowds.” – Mehmet Murat ildan.

I would say that it’s OK to wear whatever makes you feel good because you’re the one wearing the damn outfit, no one else.

Because the biggest challenge in life is to be yourself in a world that is trying to make you be like everyone else.

Being different isn’t a bad thing, it means you’re brave enough to be yourself.

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” – Coco Chanel.

So why are we so often made to feel bad for being unique?

It feels like there is so much hate in the world today fuelled by our differences and yet for the life of me I can’t comprehend why?

If someone has a different opinion, dress sense, race, or thinks differently to us, as long as it’s not harming anyone, why does it matter?

One of the main reasons I love my job is I get to help people focus on their strengths and overcome their weaknesses.

I show people how great it is that we each have different ways of communicating who we are – we’re not all the same!

I help you understand the uniqueness of the four styles of communication (Purple, Yellow, Red and Blue) and what their driving forces are.

Then you are able to discover your own true style and why you think and act the way you do while gaining a deeper understanding of the world around you.

By knowing your own strengths and the strengths of others, you are able to celebrate everything that’s different about you, rather than focus on what’s ‘wrong’.

For example if you were dominant in the Purple style you would know that you excel at getting people excited about things and you are great at coming up with new ideas no one would have even thought of!

Whereas if you were dominant in Yellow you would see how perfect you are at getting things organised and making the world look good.

If you were dominant in Red you would understand how great you are at thinking logically, getting straight to the point and managing people in a rational way.

Or if you were dominant in Blue you would feel wonderful for recognising how good you are at caring for others and making them feel comfortable.

As you can see there are so many differences between us in this world, so how about rather than focus on what’s ‘wrong’ with us, why don’t we focus on what’s right?

How we each bring something different to the table (and that’s a good thing).

We shouldn’t want everyone else to be the same as us because how boring would that be?

Before you judge someone for acting or looking differently to you, I’d like you to first ask yourself this question…

“What is wrong with being different?”

Because the answer is – absolutely nothing!