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How to Be DifferentThree Parts:Knowing YourselfFinding Your UniquenessPutting It into Action

There are many people out there who want to be "part of the crowd." If you want to bethe leader and stand out from the crowd instead, then this article is for you. It's awonderful feeling when you know that you are original and unique.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Knowing Yourself

1. 1Know you're unique. For starters, know that you're already different than everyoneon the planet. Sure, some people are more different than others, but all of us have aunique set of experiences and characteristics that spell out a different reality thaneveryone else on Earth. No one else has the same brain you do, the same thoughtsyou do, and the same reactions as you do. You're different by just being human.

Labels are pretty useless. Even striving to be different isn't something that's trulyachievable. A quick change of cultures will show you that people operatedifferently by default. Instead, accept that you're already unique and work withyourself. Who is you, anyway?

2. 2Find yourself and be yourself. In order to be as different as possible, you have tobe you -- not a carbon copy of someone else. If you don't know who you are, thatprocess can seem a bit scary. In order to be yourself, you have to find yourself. Doyou know what it is you like? What you are like? Who are you when no one else isaround?

It's important to love yourself, too. If you're not comfortable with who you are,you'll inevitably end up trying to be someone else -- or at the very least beingsomeone who you're not to please others.

3. 3Spend some time alone. It's normal nowadays to be constantly bombarded withstimuli -- whether it's on a screen or the people around us. To really get down to whoyou are and what makes you different, spend some time alone. Disconnect from

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everything. What are you left with? Meditate on what matters to you.We're constantly being told what to wear, what to eat, what to say, what to looklike, how to act, what to read, what to watch...you get it. Get alone and all of asudden you'll be without guidance. It'll be a strange feeling, sitting there,thinking about what you wouldn't miss if you never had towear/eat/say/do/read/watch it again. Think about what aspects of yourenvironment are shoved onto you and which ones you openly embrace.

4. 4Know what you want. Be very careful that you actually want to be different.Maybe you're just in a group of friends that you don't jive with and that little voice inyour head is just being misinterpreted. What does different actually mean to you?

What do you perceive as normal? What is it about people that strikes you as "thesame?" Every person's interpretation of what "different" actual is is, well,different. Is it how they look? Act? Talk? Dream?

5. 5Know how you want to be different. Once you've pinpointed what "different" isto you, how do you want to go about it? If you're in a group of friends that only eatsSwedish protein bars and wears pink on Wednesdays, how do you want to go off onyour own? Do you want to become a math mastermind or do you just want to shakeit up by wearing purple? You could be different in so many ways.

Part 2 of 3: Finding Your Uniqueness

1. 1Note your environment. A Japanese man that shakes hands instead of bowing willbe different in his culture, but be pretty normal in the West. Reading Thoreau for funwill be commonplace in some circles, while "normal" is Cosmopolitan in others. Inorder to know how to be different, you have to take into account your environment.Think of three words to describe yours. Now, what's the opposite of that?

Let's go back to "Mean Girls." Three words to describe that environment?Superficial. Vain. And unsurprisingly, mean. Wanna be different from the Plastics?You'd have to be a deep thinker, not into looks, and nice. However, being nice inother circles is totally normal (and expected). What's your circle like?

2. 2Observe. Take a step back from your surroundings for a moment and just observe.How are people behaving? How do they interact with each other (friends, strangers,cashiers, lovers)? What assumptions do they all make? How are they dressed? If youwere to walk in unexpectedly, how could you not fit into the mold?

There's definitely a spectrum of outrageousness here. Something so simple aswearing a bright color could set you out from the crowd in a café on a drearyday.

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You could make small changes to your behavior -- when the cashier at the caféasks you what you'd like, instead you could reply, "Hmm. Not sure. How wasyour day?"You could go the wrong way -- be loud, throwing things, start dancing on tables -- that'd sure be different than normal public etiquette. But it'll probably get youthrown out.

3. 3Do what you like. Straight up, you're going to enjoy some things that are trendyand some things that are not. That's fine! As long as you're doing what you enjoy,you'll have a combination that's probably unique to you. Maybe you love baking,jiujitsu, and thrift-shopping. If you enjoy it, it'll feel right.

It shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks or does. Do you want to sing a songfrom Jekyll & Hyde at karaoke in German? Awesome. Go for it. Do you want tobuy that Abercrombie & Fitch bag? Well, if it would make you happy, sure. Justmake sure it's not someone else telling you to do it!

4. 4Try new things. We are naturally raised as part of a group. Therefore, we'reconstantly being exposed to things that others around us have already approved.These things are good -- they can open us up to things we're not even aware of --but it's also important to try things that are brand spankin' new to you that otherpeople haven't already endorsed. How else will you find out what you like and do notlike?

5. 5Color outside the lines. From a very young age, we're sort of brainwashed to fitinto our society. We wear clothes, eat with utensils, go to school, do things to matchour gender, et cetera and so forth. It's hard to realize that this is a box you can getout of. There are lines that you can color outside of. It just hasn't occurred to most ofus.

Think about how you would act if you were in a dinosaur costume. No one cansee your face or body and you're in a dinosaur costume. All of a sudden youstart bursting into rooms and waving your tiny arms and creeping up on peoplejust because you can. You could do this in real life. You just choose not to....Why?

6. 6Be absurd. As if the dinosaur example wasn't enough, instead of just coloringoutside the lines, you don't even have to use your metaphorical crayons on themetaphorical paper. If you want to go around school wearing headphones anddancing like you're in a Selena Gomez music video, the thing is, you can. If you wantto wear a hat shaped like the state of Texas and stand outside of Wal-Mart all nightlong, if you can find one, you can. (Doesn't mean you should, but you definitelycould.)

Some people are going to severely frown on the dinosaur costumes, the public

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dancing, and the weird-shaped hats. Know that you if do want to start pressingthe limits and toeing the line, you'll most likely experience opposition. If you canhandle the heat, go for it. But know that lots of people frown on what's"abnormal."

Part 3 of 3: Putting It into Action

1. 1Shake hands with your enemies. This is a way to say act differently towardpeople than they expect. In a good way, of course! And see where it gets you -- whoknows, the next time you have to deal with a cop, shake his hand, ask him abouthimself, and see if you get out of that ticket! You very well may.

One way to be certainly be different is to be friendly to everyone. How manypeople do you know that are friendly to literally everyone? Probably not many.It's hard work! We all end up judging those around us and gravitating towardcertain types of people. Instead, be friendly toward those you may not feelinclined to be friendly toward. You'll be different and learn a lot!

2. 2Dress for yourself. It's really easy to get caught up in what society tells us looksgood and is attractive. While it's impossible to completely avoid that (without makingthe clothes yourself), use fashion like a cafeteria -- take what you want and leave therest. Do you like a certain trend? Great. Would you rather be sporting a pair of rainboots from 1972 than a pair of Uggs? Awesome -- maybe your mom has some in hercloset.

3. 3Don't get caught up in games. It's hard to come up with a few examples thateveryone does. You could say, for example, "listen to unpopular music," but there areloads of people that do that. However, one thing that seems to be a pretty normalcharacteristic across the board is drama. We love it. If you want to be different, avoidit! Don't let it be a part of your life. And definitely don't start it!

Because of how interacting with people works, we all end up playing games a lot.A friend asks us if we're mad and we say no to keep things calm, even thoughwe are. We do things to get attention, we lead people on, we employ tactics toget what we want, even if they're not the nicest. If you can recognize thoseurges, try to resist them. Being honest and genuine is a characteristic to beproud of and is more unique than it should be.

4. 4Say what everyone else is thinking. One of the games people play is not sayingwhat we mean. We're afraid of standing out, making noise, hurting someone'sfeelings, or just getting embarrassed. There will be times when an entire room isthinking something, but no one says it. The term "elephant in the room" exists for a

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reason! Be that person!Most people are caught up in what they look like or the impression they give offto truly do what they really want. They're too wrapped up in thinking aboutothers and not being themselves to really operate on a genuine level. If youcatch yourself not doing something because others are present, do it anyway!(Within the law, of course!)

5. 5Don't bother trying to impress. If you haven't noticed, there's a pattern here ofhow others' opinions shouldn't really matter. Since most people are concerned withimpressing others and how they're perceived, try not to do it. It's often when we'renot trying to impress that we do the most impressing!

You know how they say love will come to you when you stop looking for it? It'ssort of like that. Instead of presenting an image to the world, just present you.It's so much better and so much more unique.

6. 6Know the world works in opposites. Nothing is really as it seems. So manypeople are trying to be different it results in them all being the same! Being quiet maymean that when you talk, people hear you louder. When you're not trying to attractthat boy or girl, they become attracted to you. So trying to be different may not getyou anywhere.

Dressing in a squirrel suit (or a dinosaur outfit) and walking into a bar, forexample, isn't necessarily different. In a certain way it's saying, "Look at me!"just the same as a short skirt and high heels are. So the next time you're tryingto be different, think about what you're actually doing. Is it the opposite?

7. 7Know you'll bump heads. Society isn't super good at accepting what isn't trendy.People are praised for being fashionable and pretty -- few are praised for expandingour limits and coloring outside the lines. Those people may not welcome you withopen arms. And that's fine! You don't need 'em. But you do need to know it's gonnahappen. That way you'll be prepared for when it does.

Aristotle said, “To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”[1] This isone thing he nailed. Criticism is going to happen if you step outside of the box atall. Think of it as a good thing! By getting criticism, you're doing something.You're getting noticed. You're exposing people to other things. Excellent! You'redifferent.

Tips

Remember that self-discovery is an ongoing process. The person you are at 15 is notwho you will be at 22, or 49, or 97! Our needs and interests change as we growolder. Things which were important to us then, sometimes don't seem to matter

How to Be Different (with Pictures) - wikiHow

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anymore. Wisdom replaces petty ambitions as we learn to grow from ourselves.Be very open-minded, or at least try to be. Learn to see the world from differentperspectives (and not necessarily just human perspectives, either). Don't be afraid ofthose who challenge your preconceptions and values.Try to be at peace with yourself. Being surprised if people dislike your weirdness isjust oblivious stupidity on your part. If you are not willing to endure some odd glancesor comments, you will have no choice but to keep your blossoming strangeness toyourself.Do what you like and don't think about what people will say.Don't act superior to those who are not different. Many of them truly like the stylesthey wear and the TV shows they watch. Remember, popular things are popular for areason. Don't dismiss them, as you may truly love them. You could be astonished by"The O.C."'s wit, or fall in love with The Plain White T's.

Warnings

Don't label yourself. Just because you feel that you are a "gangsta" doesn't mean thatyou can't love ballet.Remember that being weird is not necessarily better than "being normal." All peopleare weird in their own ways, even if they do conform to society's rules.Being random in order to seem weird is often extremely obnoxious and is, again, verysuperficial. It will not necessarily help you see the world in a new or different way.Take note that by asking someone else how to be different, you are defeating thepurpose of what you are trying to do. Meaning if you're asking someone else how tobe different you will NOT be different because the vast majority of the time they tellyou things that they themselves would do to be different. Therefore asking someoneelse how to be different is practically impossible because they will unknowingly tellyou how to be like them. It's quite a paradoxical conundrum, isn't it?

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/46700-to-avoid-criticism-say-nothing-do-nothing-be-nothing

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