be different be happy yellow smiley in middle of sad blue smileys

Be Different – Be Happy

Be different and stand out in a crowdIsn’t it funny that we teach kids that it’s ok to be different, yet often encourage them to follow the same path – finish school, go to college, work for a company for 40 years, and then retire?  Though there is more of a tolerance for wacky hair and piercings now, the opportunity to be different among our youth is not as great as it could be.  Then these kids grow up and perpetuate the same cycle.

We all know that it’s ok to be different.  Maybe Lady Gaga has helped show that you can be different and successful at the same time.  In fact, far more people than we imagine have gone on to pursue “different” endeavors in life and quite often we respect them even more afterwards.  We respect them for having the guts to take the road less traveled.  We respect them because we know that in our lives there were opportunities to take the road less traveled and we didn’t.  The timing wasn’t right or the financial situation wasn’t good enough, or whatever.  We often find excuses for not being different and we often look back with regret.

The point here is not to be overtly different.  You don’t need to go and dye your hair blue or get a tattoo on your forehead to stand out.  You should strive to follow your heart.  Everyone on this planet is unique in his or her own way, yet we often spend most of our lives conforming to society’s standards instead of living the life our heart wants us to.

When you pay attention to your wants and desires instead of suppressing them, you can start to unravel the mystery of who you really are.  In other words, you’ll be increasing self-competence.  The result of this is knowing what you want in life.  Then you can make the changes necessary to live this different life, which is exactly what the Happiness Plunge is!

Being different means inviting criticism.  Others around you may not agree with the changes you want to implement in your life.  This is to be expected.  They may do it out of worry, but in other cases they have a vested interest in keeping things the same!  If you are a good friend of someone, then if you make huge changes in your life it can make the other person feel uneasy or jealous or worry that you will no longer have a place for them in your new life.  Keep this in mind when you set out to make changes in your life.  Be different and lead a life better suited for you!

Have you made big changes in your life to be different?  Please share them with us below!

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