At one time or another most people I know have felt like they are really “weird.” I know, I’ve spent most of my life feeling like I’m way outside of the norm.
If you:
- Were called a dweeb, loser, geek, nerd, freak, or head in high school
- Are not generally considered a stellar 9-5 employee (read: you’ve been fired)
- Tend to be shy or introverted
- Feel like a complete dork at networking events
- Want to hurt rah-rah jock types, or at the very least tell them to shut the *&#$ up.
- Secretly listen to totally “uncool” music. (ABBA, Air Supply, disco, etc.)
…welcome to my world.
I was a complete loser in high school, have been fired from at least two jobs (maybe more, depending on how you look at it), am so very shy, hate networking events and jocks, and yes, I listen to ABBA. (I really don’t like disco or Air Supply much, but I confess I listen to my ABBA Gold CD…a lot.)
But you know what, it’s okay. The fact that I’m weird is what makes me…me. As my sister once said, “sometimes you just need to embrace your inner loon.”
I think she’s right. Your inner loon is where creativity lurks. It’s impossible to be creative when you are constantly feeling like you need to live up to someone else’s expectations of what’s “right” and “wrong.”
Who are they to say?
I’m all for personal growth and introspection, but I think it’s also necessary to avoid taking other people’s comments and criticisms too seriously. After all, they might be the same jerks who called you a loser in high school. (I like to think that karma has bitten a few of those people in the butt by now.)
Here’s an example. About a year ago, someone said I had the wrong “money mindset.” It related to the fact that I had purchased a program from her a few years prior, but didn’t feel good endorsing it anymore because I hadn’t seen the revised version. It was substantially changed and she also had tripled the price. Anyway, she was incredibly nasty about my reluctance to say nice things about an expensive product I’d never seen. It hurt my feelings. She even “unfriended” me on social media. Yeesh.
It was high school all over again.
I always want to improve, and since then I have read quite a few books about money and attitudes toward it. As an aside, if you’re female, one of the best books I found is Secrets of Six-Figure Women. Suze Orman has a couple of other good books targeted toward women that I enjoyed as well.
After all that, I came away with the realization that pretty much everyone has hang ups about money. I’m sure I still do and so does the woman who claims I have the “wrong” mindset. I have tried to take steps to work on my issues, and try to do better at recognizing if/when negative thought patterns might be holding me back.
I also realized that my ethics and being true to myself are way more important than someone criticizing me or calling me names online. The reality is that I’m not going to do a testimonial for a product I haven’t seen. That’s just me. Letting go of caring about someone being “mad” at me and realizing that her opinion means absolutely nothing is freeing. (Heck, even just writing about it is freeing!)
So hey, I may be a loon, but I’m a happy loon. If you’ve ever felt like you’re a weirdo, embrace it!