WHAT IS YOUR DIFFERENTIATOR?
Are you one of a crowd or do you stand apart?
What distinguishes you from `others' and gives you that cutting edge?
I'm not like the rest; I'm different.“ How
often we hear people say this in varied contexts. To some extent it is true;
all of us are unique, different from each other. It is heartening to know that
no two snowflakes are alike and all fingerprints are unique. Indeed, very few
things in Nature are exactly alike; each cloud, each flower, tree, every leaf,
and even water molecules are different from each other. Certainly, Nature never
meant humans to be clones of each other. Our DNA, circumstances of birth,
culture, upbringing, influences and exposure all ensure each individual has
striking differences from another.
But we ignore that reality and pour ourselves
into readily available casts.We model ourselves on available leads, become part
of groups, and lose our individual identities. Looking around for affirmations
and approvals, we end up as clones of each other. Drowning the voice of our
individual drummer, we march to tunes that have the stamp of social approval.
And yet the niggling voice within sometimes
asserts itself, and we declare we are different. Of course, we are. Each one of
us is. But do we really appreciate or even understand our own differentiators?
Do we work upon and display these to our advantage? “If you only read the books
that everyone is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking,“
says Haruki Murakami in Norwegian Woods. True. And similarly, if you only do
what everyone else is doing, wear what others are wearing, echo opinions and
reflect attitudes you encounter elsewhere you can only be one of many! If you
wish to lead a life less ordinary, it is important to create your differentiator and nurture it. Just like a differentiator helps grow or kill a
business, a differentiator for an individual gives him that competitive edge
over others.This is what will make you stand out, be the one who is selected
from amongst many, the cynosure of all eyes in a crowded room. Your
differentiator is what gives you your individual identity, the one thing that
will make you stand out in a sea of `others'.
To identify your differentiators, focus on
understanding and accepting yourself as you are, without wanting to be someone
or something else. This will help you naturally gravitate towards things that
enhance and add value to you. You will learn to develop skills and use these to
your best advantage without looking around for guidance or waiting for a sign.
You will develop your own individual personalities as well as style statements.
It is important to develop your signature style,
be it in personality traits, attitude or style statement. It could be the
pursuit of a hobby that lifts you above the rest, or a philosophy or outlook
you display.
Step out of boxes you have been taught to grow
up within, and ex plore possibilities beyond. Con sciously attempt to do things
in your own unique way. Certain traits be come the hallmark of a profession.
Bureaucrats will be pompous; politi cians will
be smoothly devious; jour nalists will be intrusive; clerks irrita ble,
scientists will be absent-minded; lawyers, argumentative, and doctors harried!
But really, must you? Some are smart enough to consciously step away from
adopting the traits associated with a group or a profession; they develop their
own differentiators and attitudes. These are the ones instantly marked as
`different'.
But hang on! Different yes, but different from
what? It is very easy to be different if difference alone is the agenda. Wear
strange clothes, walk in a strange manner, be rude amongst polite people and
take on an anti-social stance. You are different! However, being subversive or
an object of ridicule is not the point.Nor is the idea to stand out for the
heck of it. Your differentiator has to be real and true to you, as you understand
yourself. Then alone is it enticing and exciting.
Remember, in order to be effective, the
differentiator has to define you and your agenda, not be the agenda itself.
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vinitadawra nangia
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TL1MAR15
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