Dare to Be Different (1)

One of the lessons we must imbibe if we want to be victorious in life is that we are not standardised products. We are unique creatures. We are created to be unique and different from each other. When God created us, He created us with different personality, features, potentials, physical stature, etc.

Presently, the world’s population is over 7 billion, and out of this population, you can never find two persons that are exactly the same. Generic scientists have made us to understand that if you had 300 billion brothers and sisters, none of them will be exactly like you. Everyone will be unique and different from each other.

Purpose of Uniqueness

God in his infinite wisdom did not create us to be completely identical to each other. I think one reason God made us unique is that He assigns us to do a particular job which only we can do. Imagine what the world will be if we were created to be identical and to perform the same task.

Beware of Imitation

In Hosea 4:6, God said: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” One big mistake we normally make is that we struggle to be like others. We don’t want to be seen as one among millions. We want to do what everyone else is doing. We want to follow the crowd so that we will not be labelled as nonconformists.

As a result of this, we struggle in vain to be like others. We spend hours, days, months and years imitating others with the hope that we will one day become like them, but we never become like them.

This is because when we copy or imitate others, the best we can be is second rate to the person we are imitating. We can never be like any person no matter how long and hard we try. When we copy others and become second rate, we cease being the best that God wants us to be.

God wants us to be the best that he created us to be. And the only way to be the best that He wants us to be is to be ourselves. We should stop copying others and start focusing on our own potentials. The issue is not trying to be a replica of another, but doing what you know best to do. THE SECRET OF LIVING A SUCCESSFUL AND FULFILLED LIFE IS TO FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTH. 

Look for that spark of originality that makes you unique and different and develop yourself along that line. It was Art Williams that said: “All you can do is all you can do.” What matters is what YOU can do; not what others can do.

Forget about other people’s exploits and achievement. Don’t imitate   any person. You may learn from others, but you don’t have to copy everything they do. Look for what you know best and plant yourself there doing it.

Success comes from doing what you know best to do. When you study the lives of super stars, you will discover that they do what they know best to do. No person becomes a super star doing something he does not know how to do.

Overcoming Hindrances to Being the Best God Wants You to Be            

While striving to be the best that God wants you to be, the major hindrance you will encounter is the pressure to do what everybody is doing, and becoming what everybody is becoming.

The pressure is everywhere – in the family, educational institutions, organizations, societies, clubs, etc. The more you try to be yourself, the higher the pressure you will face.

Rejection, social ostracism and excommunication are the weapons the society uses to frustrate those who try to stand out of the crowd.  But ironically, these weapons are the motivation you need to stand out of the crowd and be yourself. The likes of Mandela, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, etc have experienced ostracism and overcome it.

Every super successful person had at one time experienced rejection and overcame it. One Nigerian who experienced rejection and overcame it is Buchi Atuonwu, a multi talented gospel reggae artist. Buchi, as he is fondly called by his fans, narrated in an interview how a Christian ministry invited him to sing at a crusade. As he sang, the crowd went gaga. The people lifted up their hands and danced with him.

Suddenly, a voice roared: “Where did you bring this Rasta from? I asked for a gospel artiste. Why did you bring me a Rastafarian? Send him away. Cut the sound.”

As Buchi was still singing, they switched off the sound and pushed him away in the full glare of the people. Humiliated, he walked away with members of his band.

However, years later, the same people who drove him away from the stage, invited him to come and sing the songs to them at their meeting. And he did!

Recounting the experience, he said: “Thank God that I was not embarrassed enough to be angry.”

Lessons You Must Learn to Stand Out and Be Yourself

Below are lessons you must learn to stand  out  in life and be different:

1.   Understand that God Did Not Make a Mistake in Making You Different. God made you unique and deposited in you unique abilities to enable you stand out and be outstanding.

2.    Your success, happiness and fulfillment are anchored on the talents God bestowed on you. Your talents are what you know best to do. You cannot shine when you copy what others are doing. But, when you do what you know best to do, you will shine like stars in the firmament. So, discover your God-given talent, develop and deploy if for your greatness and fulfillment. 
 

3.   Never let any person talk you out of your area of strength. Many people will not agree with what you are doing, but that does not mean what you are doing is bad or wrong. The fact that some people don’t approve of what you are doing does not mean you are wayward or that they are better than you. Most times, it is better to stand alone than to be carried away with the madding crowd. If you go with the crowd, you can go wrong. But if you follow your inner conviction, you cannot go wrong. It is your conscience and the Almighty God that will judge you, not the crowd. The approval of men is irrelevant. What is important is God’s approval and you own approval. Ensure that you are not doing what displeases God. Ensure also that you are doing what you know best to do.

4.   Choose to be yourself, no matter the pressure to make you do what others are doing. Many people are made to believe that it is only what people approve of that is good. But that is not always true. People who are guided by this belief always end up as mediocre. You don’t have to follow the crowd always. Think your own thoughts and be yourself.

5.   When you choose to be different, you will meet with oppositions. But that should not make you to conform with others. Don’t be afraid of rejections, ostracism and excommunication, because they are the motivation and the tonic you need to stand out and be different.

6.   “God does not want us to be buffaloes which run with the herds,” says Norman Vincent Peale, “He wants us to be eagles, which fly alone.” Be a flier and not a runner. And the way to be a flier is to be yourself, stand out and be different.

7.   The crowd can go wrong, but never go wrong with the crowd. Two wrongs, they say, cannot make a right. Always expect that people will provoke you to anger, but learn to control yourself as much as you can. When you are angry, don’t overreact. In order not to lose your temper, sometimes, it is wise to walk away from those provoking you. 

8.   And last but not the least, learn to forgive those who offend you. This is the foundation of Christianity. You cannot claim to owe allegiance to Christ, if you cannot forgive those who offend you. Jesus died so that our sins can be forgiven. We have no choice, we must forgive others. It is God’s commandment. On forgiveness, Jesus said: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  (Matt. 6:14-15).

As I round off, I urge you to dare to be different. Be unique. Do what you know best to do regardless of the pressures to make you do what others are doing. This is the only way you can become the best that God wants you to be!

Watch Out for Part 2

Part 2 of this article will come your way soon. Stay glued to this blog and don’t miss it!

Until I come your way soon, go and live victoriously!

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