Are you the One of a kind? Is there anything that makes you Different or Unique as compared to those around you? What is so special that makes you A class apart?
Have you ever been struck with these thoughts? I am sure most of us think something like this when we are preparing for job interviews. We try to recall all our achievements, strengths, motivations, prior work responsibilities, marital status, gender and what not !!
Whereas, the job requirements, would always require us to be pretentious, smart and overwhelmingly good, it’s nevertheless a fact that each one of us have been manufactured to be unique. Each one of us is different, we are small, big, petite, tall, black, white, pink, brown, liberal, orthodox, intelligent, naive, advanced, developing etc etc.…
Ever wondered, Why there has never been an another Einstein or Elvis Presley and mind it, there’s never going to be an another YOU.
You means YOUnique !!!
We all go through the same stages of growing up and share the same characteristics physically, yet, we grow up so different from one another. So, here, we attempt to elucidate on factors that make each one of us unique and different from the rest.
Let’s have a look:
1. Genes
Undoubtedly, that would be the first factor to garner anyone’s attention. Our bodies have approximately 24000 genes that permute and combine together to give a variety of mindsets, thinking abilities, intelligences, notorieties, complexions, heights, widths, normalcies and abnormalities. Try giving yourself a guess for your personal and unique gene combination (Thumbs Up!!!) .
2. Upbringing
“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.” This saying goes quite well with the notion of Upbringing. Our lives are greatly affected by the way we have been raised by our parents. The childhood atmosphere and learnings, positive or negative leave a life long impact on a growing mind and greatly affect the creation of mindsets and attitudes.
3. Education
Education makes one more refined, knowledgeable and helps in enhancing thinking and cognitive abilities. One gets to know about ethics, learns good habits, behaviours and discipline. Talents and creativity get a recognition along with a platform that allows an overall development of the child. So, depending upon which mind grabs what, a unique character is formed for an individual.
4. Family, Friends and People around us
A lot of our values, beliefs, habits and notions come from our parents. Friends, spouses, peers, colleagues, bosses, managers, subordinates, any other elderly figures too have an impact on the way we think and react to lives on a day to day basis. Bottomline, when unique people meet unique people, something unique happens.
5. Life Experiences
Experiences maketh a man…. and a woman too !!! Everybody’s life’s journey is unique, their experiences are different. Simple example, go to your mom and dad, ask them about their childhood, school days, the way they got a job etc and I can bet the narration you are going to get, would be starkly different than that of yours and your experiences so far…
6. Culture
The world is a boiling pot of various cultures. We follow a lifestyle that’s inspired by certain beliefs, practices and traditions. Whatever was done and practiced by our great elders, the same is practiced by us today, with some tweaking, if at all. Cultures give us a way of life that’s different and specific to a particular kind.
7. Travel
Travel helps one to be a happier person and also, enables to have a clearer and broader perspective of life. When you travel, you get to see worlds, you haven’t seen before. You get exposed to different cultures, different people, their rituals, art, ways of living and food. So, the more you travel, the more enriched you are and that is what makes you different.
8. Aspirations
Everybody does not want to be a rocket scientist, there are those who want to be singers, dancers, doctors, social workers, mountain climbers, writers, Himalayan dwellers…. so on and so forth. The aspirations and goals in everyone’s life are endless and that is what makes them the people they are.
9. Your Physical Self
Everyone must learn to appreciate their physical self. Everyone’s bodies make them unique. Some are taller, some are short, some are heavier, some are not. Some are fairer, some are sharper, some are flexible, other’s have longer hair, longer legs or arms etc. Hence, the body structure and shape varies for one and all and makes us unique.
10. Strengths and Weaknesses
We all have our unique strengths. There are those who are good communicators whereas others make better leaders or supportive team members. Somebody’s strength could be a weakness for somebody else. The imaginative become the scientists and artists, the diplomatic become the politicians and the determined measure huge heights and depths. Aren’t we different?
11. Talents
Our inborn skills set us apart from the rest. Think about if you are a good dancer or a singer, naturally creative or simply good at sales. Your talent can be anything that you got for free, in your veins and makes you exceptionally good at it.
12. Personality Traits
No one behaves the same in any given situation. The responses and reactions are unique for each one of us. Extraversion or introversion, intuition or reasoning, thinking or feeling, judgemental or perceptive – one can be any of the combination of the above.
13. Choices
Life is all about the choices we make. Two individuals starting their careers in the same organisation in the same role, with the same education can end up having entirely different career progressions, depending upon the choices they make. So, it’s the choices that define us and make us what we are.
14. Personal Style
Every person has a unique style of doing things – Dressing up, Cooking, Cleaning, Working, Singing, Sleeping and so on…. Some of us are more systematic and organised whereas there are others who hate to have a plan and thrive on the thrill of the unexpected. Some of us like to look sharp and polished while some just love being casual and enjoy being in their comfort zone. This signature style gives every individual their individuality.
Hence, it’s not just your fingerprints or retina or for that matter your DNA that make you different from the rest but a number of other factors too. It is important to understand that each one of us is a unique entity with a unique thought process that has no comparison with others. So, we must learn to appreciate that uniqueness in us and respect that of others.
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