Stand Out

In today’s world, we are bombarded with a lot of information and online content which make it really hard to stand out. I am not a prolific user of social media but on the back of being in the MasterChefUK competition, I’ve needed to focus more on my social media presence and the experience to say the least has been eye opening. I have seen people’s obsessions with getting likes which can take them away from their core objectives to pointless sharing of contents devoid of creativity, meaning or purpose.

When the goal is to get a lot of likes, then contents are shaped by that goal. We can lose sight of how easy it is to overlook a passion project in exchange for a popularity project. It is also easy to lose clarity of the direction of travel as it is tempting to want to copy what is getting other creators a lot of likes.

Over the past few weeks, I have constantly asked questions about my purpose, visions and long term goals. I’ve reviewed my past online presence to determine what needs to change and taken a step back to reassess the bigger picture for the things that I do. 

Here are some of my takeaways on standing out in a crowded world.

Don’t be afraid to stand out

Standing out requires courage. You might be tempted to think that you can only stand out if you are fearless and that’s not true. Feeling the fear and still getting up to do what it takes is what will make you stand out.

Standing out in a crowded world will not happen if we look like everyone else.

Be clear on what you are willing to stand out for

Some people stand out for all the wrong reasons while others stand out in a way that we admire and perhaps want to emulate. Others, in a bid to stand out at any cost will do things that are outrageous and contrary to who they are and what their souls need.

Soon, they pay the price through burnout or some sort of breakdown. Going contrary to yourself in a bid to stand out is one of the worst things you can do. Eventually you will realise the rewards are not worth losing or denying yourself for.

Be willing to pay the price to stand out

There is a price to pay for standing out. It takes hard work to stand out in the right ways and for the right things. There will be people who will resent you for standing out, some might resent you for not being where they expected or wanted you to be.

Others could be upset because you no longer have the time to serve their purposes or needs of you. You need to understand what’s being asked of you when you are criticised for standing out.

Stand out in the right way

To stand out from a crowd, we must be willing to overlook what people might be saying or thinking about us. One might even say it requires us to be either ignorant or oblivious of the crowd but we don’t always have the luxury of being oblivious or ignorant.

Anyone who has seen a child dancing in public will often observe that the child is oblivious of those around them and in some cases when they notice the attention on them, they become self-conscious and stop what they are doing.

We can stand out from a crowd but be so concerned about what people think that we don’t enjoy and can’t celebrate our uniqueness. If you are going to stand out, do so unapologetically.

I love the way Erica Layne puts it in the quote that says, “It’s nice to stand out from the crowd, but it’s nicer not to worry what the crowd thinks”.

Stand out without expectations

If you are going to stand out, you have to be willing to accept that it can be a lonely place to be. You must be willing to stand out even if the rewards are not immediate or visible. Standing out must be its own reward and be enough because that might be all you get.

The ones you expect to acknowledge your effort might be unwilling to do so and you have to be ready for that.

In conclusion, you are meant to shine wherever you find yourself and when you do, you naturally stand out. Focus on what you are meant to do and who you are created to be and let the rest of the chips fall as they will.

Thanks for reading my post and sharing it with others. Have a wonderful week.