Be Different: Every Day Should Be Opposite Day

There’s a reason Steve Jobs said, “Think different.” He knew that thinking differently, being different, not doing what everyone else is doing, is the key to being successful. . .

You want a sure-fire way to succeed? I have good news for you: It’s not that difficult. The trick is to do better than the majority of people around you. Even if just slightly better. If your coworkers show up late for work, show up early. If your friends refuse to take good advice, take good advice. If your classmates don’t study for the test, study. If everyone else is selling, buy. If everyone is buying, sell. This method basically guarantees that you’ll end up on top. You automatically have the upper hand. Because, statistically speaking, most people you know (or will get to know) are average people. To be above average, you have to be at least slightly better than them. Slightly harder-working, slightly more diligent, slightly more self-aware, slightly better at public speaking, etc.

I’m not saying you have to be better than everyone at everything. I am saying that it’s not too difficult to be. You just have to push yourself harder than others push themselves. Take yourself more seriously. Try out more things, branch out. Don’t settle. Don’t get used to waking up at the last minute. Don’t habitually pick up your phone whenever you feel like it. Be in control.

It’s a simple matter to notice what others are doing—and just not do that. If your friends do nothing but watch Netflix every weekend, do something else, hopefully something more productive, like start a podcast, write a novel or go on a road trip. They will sink further and further into their reliance on brain-numbing recreation while you build up your resume, your experience and your love for life. 

Be different. You won’t only be more valuable for being more responsible and knowledgeable and teachable, you’ll also be more interesting. Who wants to hear about some show you found on Netflix as opposed to the time you found this creepy, abandoned barn when you went backpacking? I mean, let’s be honest, that sounds like it could be a Netflix show—except it actually happened to you!

Above average: It’s not that difficult. Just be different.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

iOS to Android and Back Again: the woes of migrating between operating systems

I used an Android phone for only one month and was terrified by how quickly I got used to it. It was just so easy! My contacts synced with my Gmail, Google Maps worked like a dream, and Inbox was like digital narcotics. (Imagine: all my to-dos, reminders and mail in one place!) And that back-button! How did I live without a back-button?? But it couldn’t last, I knew. Android and I weren’t meant to be. I’d recently bought a MacBook Pro. I’d grown up with iPods and iMacs. My loyalty was with Apple, no matter how much I hated to admit it. And I did hate it. For an entire week, I hated my new iPhone. It would be fine, I’d told myself, you’ll just download all those Google Apps from the app-store and use them as before! The app-icons will look different, but hey! Except, it’s not that simple: Chrome is not (and cannot be, without a jailbreak) iOS’s default browser; Google Maps must give preference to Apple Maps; don’t you dare add a contact to Contacts, because there is no hope of syn...
Read more

Are Boys Better at Math?

Fellow girls, if you are convinced that boys are better at math than girls, then when the math gets tough (say, around quadratics or graphing functions or figuring out those dang related rates problems), you will think it's tough because you're a girl. On the other hand, if you believe you can be just as good at math as a boy, you will stick with the tough math until you figure it out, just like the boys do. They haven’t been told that math is harder for them than for others, so when it gets tough they just figure it’s because math is a difficult subject——which it is. They don’t automatically switch to thinking that they can’t do this because there’s something with their brains that keeps them from being good at this. It all comes down to a simple belief. Do you believe in yourself of what others think of you? Be careful which belief you choose. It might mean the difference between a successful career that you enjoy and an unfulfilling, boring one.
Read more

Ender's Game - spoiler-free review

Ender’s Game is so many people’s absolute favorite book, and for good reason. It’s well-written, well-paced and has something for every age of reader. As a kind you might gravitate to the action and the cool zero-gravity games. As a teen you might relate more to Ender’s struggles with his family and with growing up and having new responsibilities thrust on him. And as an adult you’re probably going to find the psychological and ethical angles of the book most fascinating. This is why Ender’s Game is one of the very few books the I’ve reread. Ender’s Game follows Ender, a little boy from Earth who gets sent to a Battle School, a school in space where kids barely study regular subjects and instead devote their time to a sport that’s played in a giant, zero-gravity room. Two armies of children armed with laser guns battle each other for points, prestige and the skills necessary to move on to Command School where they’re trained to command fleets of space ships, all in preparation for the ...
Read more