5 Ways to Maintain Individuality
8.10.2023
By: Shariah James
During this time of discovering who you are and all of the amazing things you will do, keep these 5 tips for maintaining individuality in mind.
1. Get to know yourself
Take a few minutes to focus on yourself, do not put anybody else’s needs above your own at this time. Put the phone on DND, turn your tv off or to soft tunes, get in a place where you cannot be bothered by what happens externally and ask yourself personal definitive questions. You can use these to guide you:
What are my values?
What do I do for myself in order to feel valued?
Do my goals align with my values?
Do my actions align with my goals?
What is my personal definition of success?
Who matters most to me?
What are my strengths?
What am I doing to develop those strengths?
What am I doing to purposefully fill my cup?
What do I want to be known for?
Understanding and embracing yourself helps cultivate your values, interests, strengths and personal goals. This self-discovery journey allows you to define your own concept of success, unhindered by comparisons to others. Overall, self-knowledge paves the way for genuine self-growth and the development of your individuality.
2. Strengthen your strengths
This can be hard because oftentimes we focus on our weaknesses rather than our strengths. However, there are limitless benefits to focusing on what you do best. Focusing on what you do best creates a lane for you to develop your drive and confidence. God intricately and thoughtfully wove you together while you were being formed in the womb, that includes your strengths. YOU were created to do great things! Invest your time and energy, HERE!
3. Be content with your individuality, not complacent
You are more than enough and you should have contentment (satisfaction) in knowing this steadfast truth. However, knowing you are more than enough and being content in that, is not an excuse to stay stagnant. Stagnation is complacency. Complacency is the lack of challenging yourself to do more, be more, and want more. Instead, use contentment (satisfaction & gratefulness) to continue to look for ways to progress. A great way to be mindful of this practice is by asking yourself questions like, “did I do all I could to reach my goals today?”
4. Plan to pivot
There will be times when you get distracted from developing your individuality. These distractions can tempt you into old habits and unproductive ways of thinking. Distractions look like comparing yourself to others or the feeling of FOMO. Giving into distractions can lead you into questioning your capabilities or self-worth. When you start to have these negative thoughts/feelings, call them what they are… distractions… and pivot. Some distractions feel really big, but they’re actually really small and they are just sent to knock you off of your game. Remember you are working on developing and maintaining this amazing person who does amazing things!
5. Enjoy the process
Everyday will not be a good day but everyday will not be a bad day either. Process is a series of change. During this series of change, focus on controlling what you can control. Fill your cup along the way. Take responsibility and ownership of your happiness and success because the only way a person can live in overflow is if their cup has been intentionally poured into. Remember to be patient with yourself. Your goals are going to take time or they would not be goals.
You are one of one. What God has for you, is for you. Don’t look back, unlock your individuality!
XO,
The Kléi
