Your diversity may leave you facing inner doubt. Diversity meaning whatever attributes leaves you sticking out in a crowd. The element forces you to stand out, hence the internal voice whispering questions. “What might others think?” “Will I feel accepted?” Relentlessly the self-imposed inquiry rages on.
Stop the interrogation! Easily said, right? Trust me, I know. Before becoming the Cerebral Palsy Vigilante I battled internally. My cerebral palsy memoir Off Balanced details my journey from embarrassment to embrace over CP.
Publishing Off Balanced sparked me to start additional dialogues. Many a which I continue broadcasting to you via my Youtube channel. The latest features my ninth and 10th grade English teacher Mr. Adam Swirsky. Insights Adam shared should assist you in calming your insecurities. Going further, I dare say turn your diversity into an asset.
Exhibit A
To start let us consider what self-doubt represents. How you perceive yourself! That leads me to some good news. Others probably view you differently than you do yourself. A statement my chat with Adam supports. Enter exhibit A.
During our discussion I recalled Adam possessing a confident personality. One lesson in-particular gave me such impression. Responding whether he felt my take remained accurate Adam made a profound statement. “The world doesn’t necessarily see you the same way you see yourself.”
Emphasizing his point, Adam attributed my observations to his professional persona. Meanwhile he admitted to displaying more timid behavior outside school. Quite the surprise!
Amidst Good Company
Another tidbit worth highlighting reassures. Your self-doubt places you amidst good company. Like Adam acknowledges, everyone encounters an innermost critic. A realization his teacher status spawned.
Contemplate a high school student’s interactions. Albeit a jock, outcast, or so forth, each kid contains at least a single common interaction. The teacher! Serving in this role almost two decades Adam comes to conclude the following. “Everybody has the same insecurities. Everyone has the same doubts. They just hide it in different ways.”
Rocking Life
Forget hiding! Those efforts stifle your true potential. A message I hoped to convey via Off Balanced. Plus Adam reinforces the aforementioned theme through opening up about himself.
Specifically Adam describes obstacles he faced due to dyslexia. Obstacles turned advantage after Adam placed himself in the right situation. He talks dyslexia enabling him to become a “rock star” while studying advertising in college. He summarized “Once I learned to embrace that I see the world a little differently it’s an advantage not to come up with the same answer all the time.”
How Will You Turn Your Diversity into an Asset?
To reiterate your diversity involves the attributes which leave you sticking out in a crowd. Upon pondering your differences you feel self-doubt. Remember, other people will perceive you differently. Therefore let the doubts go.
Instead take reassurances in the knowledge everyone deals with insecurities. Most simply hide them. Rather than hiding though, seek opportunity. Determine settings where your diversity could prove beneficial. Think and then tell in the “Comments” below, how you will turn your diversity into an asset.
Disclaimer: The link to Off Balanced’s Amazon sales page is a part of the Amazon LLC Associate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
