Celebrate Your Uniqueness
A segment of the weekly newsletter is a weekly theme and this blog post is an enhancement to that section. Each weekly theme is an invitation and encouragement meant to help the reader better connect to themselves. Please note that the selected themes can be reflected upon at any time and are not limited to the week the themes are shared and published.
Theme: Uniqueness
This week’s theme of Uniqueness is an invitation for you to settle into yourself and explore all the ways you are unique: from your uniqueness as a person to your uniqueness as a human in relation to others to your uniqueness in your views of the world. There is no one else like you. There is no one else who sees and experiences life quite like you. You are one-of-one, baby! Honor that uniqueness by bringing awareness to those spaces and places where comparison creeps in and where a keeping-up-with-the-Jones’s mentality starts to cloud your vision of the life you want to lead and the life that brings you the most joy and freedom. Your uniqueness is your superpower and, in a world that often feels like it’s full of echoes, be a voice that stands out with clarity of purpose, being, and feeling.
Practices for Reflection
Start by taking five deep breaths to ground yourself. Then, reflect on any or all of the following questions:
What are your favorite qualities about yourself?
Where does comparison come up for you?
What brings you joy?
When do you feel like your freest, most authentic self?
What does the perfect day look like for you? (Extra credit if you reflect on how to start incorporating more elements of this into your everyday life!)
Personal Reflection
I’ll be honest and say that being in my uniqueness and celebrating that uniqueness is hard. You know what makes it hard though? Comparison. It’s hard for me to be myself when I am looking at how others are being and how the world is responding to their way of being. Why do I look to others? I think it has to do with safety and comfort. I look to others as cues for being safe, comfortable, and accepted in the world. I try to catch myself when I’m operating like this because trying to be like others, denies me the power of my own existence. Yes, I want to be safe, comfortable, and accepted, but at what cost? The cost of my voice? My sense of freedom? My sense of joy? My ability to move through life without wearing a mask that I think pleases others? Comparison robs me of my joy and it distracts me from my own unique journey in this lifetime. So, how can I celebrate my uniqueness? I think there’s a two-part answer to that: (1) show myself gratitude for who I am right now, and (2) surround myself with people who lift me up in the direction of my freest and most joyful self and who challenge me to break out of outside expectations.
