*Celebrate your uniqueness*

While it is important for us as human beings to feel like we belong to our culture, our sense of belonging has to be in balance with our need to express ourselves as individual beings and to truly be accepted as such. This is the underlying philosophical premise behind all free societies. You are not expressing your right as a free person, in a free society, when you feel you must conform to a standard that goes directly against your uniqueness.

In other words, what happens when society keeps telling you to be more like an object, but deep down you know you're an event? Granted, it is a precarious task. It is not easy to have societal harmony while simultaneously expressing all of our personal quirks. However, there is a balance that can be struck, and any society, culture, or species for that matter that does not encourage diversity risks stagnation--or worse--extinction. Just ask Charles Darwin.


Creative Strategy
Look at yourself closely. Do you think you look a little strange? Do you sometimes feel like a freak? Are their features of your face and body that are unusual? Great! Terrific! Congratulations! These supposed 'flaws' are a great reminder that there are also other things about you that are wonderful, unique and part of the natural force of evolution.

Now, write down all the supposed physical 'flaws' you believe you have. Then, match every single one of these attributes with other aspects of yourself (not your physical features) that make you feel proud to be distinctive. They can be experiences, ways of thinking, skills, talents, etc. Write about these aspects of yourself and how they make you feel special, gifted, and favorably unique. Then, the next time you are feeling inadequate about your physiology, refer to these other matched qualities, and re-identify yourself as a unique event rather than a flawed object.

This exercise is designed to help you to see that your uniqueness doesn't just express itself in your external shape, it is reflected in all the other layers of who you are. Life is a product of evolution and evolution is all about diversity. Diversity keeps the gene pool constantly recombining in new ways, which keeps it healthy and immune to extinction.

Diversity is the key to survival. This is why humans and all other living entities on the planet have evolved into a myriad of shapes, sizes, and colors, among millions of other traits. It's what keeps humanity--and life itself--strong, flexible and flowing. So do yourself, your society, and your planet a huge service by expressing the real you.