Finding your unique

Finding your unique isn’t as simple as it sounds, because the more you go looking for it, the more evasive it’ll be. Maybe it’s because:

‘How can you go looking for something, that’s inherently you?’

I mean ultimately we are all different from one another and unique. Deep down we know that, but yet we don’t really believe it. That’s why we go searching for something more.

We want to appear more exciting, extravagant, original than we think we are. Because secretly most of us believe we are boring and uninteresting.

Often we start following ideas, which aren’t our own, but rather  someone else’s narrative. This could be ingested commercials about what it means being special, the latest hip advice from the newest self proclaimed expert influencer. Explaining it all and how to find your unique, authentic, creative expression in a one minute reel.

Bam, there you have it! Just do as you’ve been told and you’ll be finally interesting!
Easy, right?

The trouble is we listen so much to everybody else’s advice, that often we don’t listen to our own hunches, impulses and ideas anymore. Worse, we often negate them, deeming them es not good enough, hunting after the best ever idea etc.

The bad news is, the more we immediately push a creative impulse or idea to the side, the less we will be able to notice them. They’ll just speed fly past you and then they’re gone.

Paradoxically  the magic most often lies in the seemingly ordinary. The next best hunch, the next best idea might lead to something real fun, even though it appears benign. But we need to be willing to follow the next step, to act upon it and see where it leads us.

In my opinion, learning to improvise is the best way, to get out of the box of trying so hard to be unique and original. It affords you to explore your very own unique voice instead of someone else’s.

Let me tell you, I use the principles of improvisation in everything I create, since over thirty years now. It has become natural to me. Funnily enough, over the years, people always have commented on how unique my creations are as well as quirky. Whether that happens to be a story, a film or one of my latest drawings.

Funnily enough, I never set out to be unique or quirky, but I always have been true to my love of improvisation, allowing myself to be surprised by what comes up, allowing for the unexpected. It’s my favourite thing to do.

I have the feeling, when you become good at improvisation, you bypass all ingested ‘shoulds’ and spontaneously go to a different part of yourself, that loves to express what’s there right in the moment.

So, I would say, if you wanted to find your unique. Stop trying to find it so much and more importantly  stop covering it up. Allow yourself to be quirky and different, versus trying to fit into the main societal narrative all of the time.

Learn to follow your own hunches, impulses and random ideas, without negating them immediately. No matter how ordinary they seem to you, no matter what the inner critic is commenting on them!

Do the things that are really, really, really interesting and fun to you! You might also wanna check out my video I did on the same subject. And yes, before I forget it, one of my very unique stories from my podcast ‘Dreamy Cappuccino’ is available for download now.

Here’s to being unique, quirky and weird!