In this BIT: Can I be myself? Yes! Top voices weigh in on how to be yourself (your true self), and how to stop caring what others think.
Have you ever worried that you stand out? We burn a lot of energy worrying what other people think. It drains our mood and shrinks us down until we feel not enough. However, being different isn’t the problem. It’s the advantage. What sets you apart is the thing that makes you special, even if leaning into it feels scary at first. So, if you’ve ever pondered over: “can I actually be myself?”, keep reading.
Malcolm Gladwell worked this out early and ran the other way. He didn’t pick being different because it was noble. He picked it because it was easier. A crowded lane is a brawl. An empty one is open road. If you’ve wondered “can I be myself?”, this is your sign that being true to you is honestly a smart choice.
“The best route to success was to be as different as possible from everybody else, because it struck me that’s easier. I’m doing my own thing. Run your own race.” – Malcolm Gladwell, on being yourself.
Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick was asked to leave fashion school. She couldn’t handle the technical work. So she didn’t grind herself into a mediocre pattern-maker. She found people who loved that part, and went all in on the work only she could do.
“Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Know what you’re good at and really lean into that.” – Ellen Mirojnick, on being your true self.
There’s a quieter payoff in being yourself, one that reaches past your own win. Difference is what keeps a whole group from turning brittle. Overall, you need, as Gladwell puts it, people with “fundamentally different ways of thinking about the world.” When everyone matches, the group cracks under pressure.
Interlochen president Trey Devey sees the same spark in his young artists, the ones who walk up to a problem “from a right-angle point of view.” The breakthrough almost always arrives through the person standing where no one else thought to stand.
The greatest lessons we’ve learned from these podcast guest go as follows:
1. Run your own race. You don’t have to beat the crowd if you leave the crowd.
2. The penalty for standing out is mostly imaginary, and it expires fast.
3. Don’t be everything to everyone. Go all in on the one thing only you can do.
4. The breakthrough comes from the person standing where no one else thought to stand.
Therefore, embrace the angle only you can see! That angle is the asset. Rather than trying to push those differences down, caring about what others think and trying to become like everyone else, embrace what makes you unique. It’s your superpower!
We hope that these words of wisdom inspire you to lean into the interests that bring you curiosity and excitement. These interests make you, you! Every one of these insights came from a real conversation on the podcast. In fact, there’s so much more where this came from! Tune in and hear it for yourself: click here
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Featuring quick videos created for teens by teens.
“Can I be myself?”. In this post we explore how to be yourself and stop caring what others think. You’ll also learn how to be your true self.