Embracing my inner uniqueness
It’s been a crazy several weeks for myself and while the world slowly starts to open up again post-lockdown, it has given me some time to reflect about the person I want to be for the rest of my life.
Throughout my life, I never felt as if I really fitted in. As I tried to conform with people that I considered to be my friends, I knew my gut was telling me that I was making a series of mistakes that would lead me to hitting some really low points in my life in recent years.
Until now, I knew that throughout my existence on this planet, I wanted to create my own tribe and accept my inner uniqueness. It was difficult at first to grasp this concept, but once I figured it out, the transformative effect it has had on me is that I am a different person now compared to three years ago.
Holding myself accountable to everything I do
Growing up, I found it easy to blame others for my mistakes. This was holding me back from being accountable for everything I do professionally and personally, which stopped me from achieving my full potential in my later years in the UK education system and career.
You can kick, scream and cry to get what you want albeit in this world, that counts for absolutely nothing. If you want something so bad, you have to put in the work. That means blocking out your inner demons in your head and putting your nose to the grindstone to achieve the goals you set for yourself.
It also means holding yourself accountable every single day when you get out of your bed and making sure you nail your routines. Whether if it’s doing exercise, getting work done or cleaning the house, make sure you plan a to-do list for the week and stick to the routine you create for yourself rigorously.
Former US Navy Seal Officer Jocko Willink always says: “Discipline equals freedom”. It’s about creating a routine you will consistently stick to when you wake up first thing in the morning from your bed.
Conformity kills, embrace your uniqueness
The 35th President of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy once said:
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom.”
I have no issues with people who conform to societal values and norms as I don’t like judging people. As much as there needs to be conformity in society, I have always been an individual who tries to embrace my uniqueness, only to bury it aside to look like a normal person who’s trying to let his true self out.
It was not until the start of March 2020 that I had an eureka moment, which would determine the individual I wanted to be going forward for the rest of my life. For that to happen, I had to embrace my inner uniqueness while removing the conformity that held me back in my journalism career.
Once I used my inner uniqueness to live the life I had been wanting for so long, my confidence, mindset, fitness and spirituality changed in a matter of days. I’m no longer the boy that used to please others to fit in and I felt a huge weight come off my shoulders when that moment finally happened.
It’s also meant that by having a smaller friendship circle, it allows me to invest my time in friends that I have spent years building up that trust to get to where it is today. There’s no doubt I have many friends in journalism, albeit I make it clear to keep my professional and personal friendships separate.
What’s next?
There’s no doubt that embracing my inner uniqueness has changed who I am as a person, albeit it’s an exciting phase I’m undertaking in my life. I’m going back to Birmingham City University in September 2020 to study a Masters in Data Journalism, which should be fun being a student again for a year.
With that said too, I’m also going to be starting work on my data journalism blog again, The DDJ Nerd so keep your eyes peeled for more data-led stories. Also, I’m continuing to learn more tools and skills, including shorthand and data tools such as R, Python and SQL to continue my journalism development.
The one bit of advice I can give for anyone who’s struggling to embrace their inner uniqueness is to take a step back and think about the person that you want to be. Don’t listen to the naysayers who thought you could not get that dream career. Go out there and get after it!
