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“Look all the world over, there’s no one like me!” Keep reading, and I’ll share five ways you can know that to be so.

Do you know that little song? It’s true, y’know.

There’s no one like you. Never has been. Never will be.

It’s not just genetics, either. You are a combination of where you were born, the time period you showed up, and a whole host of other environmental factors.

I grew up thinking about this. I’ve always been aware of a sense of “otherness,” of knowing I was totally and utterly unique. I didn’t think I was easily categorized. I see that as a virtue. But it also brought about a sense of displacement, of not really fitting in anywhere.

Are you weird? Messed up?

Before you accuse me of having a pity party and being too self-absorbed (Me? NEVER!), understand that’s not my intent. I’ve embraced my individuality. I’d encourage you to do the same thing.

There’s no one like you. You can save yourself a lot of frustration if you can internalize the fact that you’re “fearfully and wonderfully made.” It’s a good, good thing.

You are different.

So if you are willing to admit that, yeah, I’m different, how can you leverage that knowledge to your advantage? How can knowing there’s no one like you be a huge advantage and a blessing to others?

Let’s break this down. I think you’ll like this. I have five thoughts that will (a) give you a reason why being so stinkin’ unique is a benefit, and (b) how knowing your uniqueness can be a source of hope and transformational encouragement. Let’s see if we can unlock some potential here.

Remember – there’s no one like you.

1. Think about the things in your life you’d like to do. Maybe a bucket list. But go beyond sky diving, or visiting the pyramids. What contribution to the world might you make? Don’t blow this off as sounding too ethereal or rah-rah motivational. If you had no fear of failure, what would you do? Don’t limit yourself. Do some blue-sky thinking. Maybe you could jot down what you came up with.

2. Are you ever handicapped by wondering what other people think of you? That’s pretty common, but I’d note that the older you get, the less of an issue that’s going to be. I had a lady tell me that she was always careful to make sure all her beds  were made up – which certainly isn’t a bad thing – but her motivation was that if the house caught on fire, she didn’t want the firemen thinking she was a poor housekeeper. Okay, then. My unexpressed thought was that an unmade bed would be the last thing a fireman, and a stranger to boot, would give any thought to.

Ponder this.

So the question for you is “If the approval or opinion of others didn’t bother you, what would you do?” That’s a big deal. I’m thinking about a kid who was groomed to join his dad in his law practice. This young man finally had to break it to his dad – who was going to pay for law school – that he had no desire to practice law. He wanted to design and build furniture. Again – if you didn’t care what others thought, what would you do? I’m not just talking about vocation, either.

3. This next one has to do with self-awareness and self-appraisal. Keeping it real, in other words. What positive qualities do you have that you like? You won’t have to share this with the class, so you can be honest. There are things about yourself that, if you’re honest, make you say, “Dang. That’s good.” This isn’t bragging. False humility won’t serve you. You do have positive qualities. I guarantee it. It doesn’t hurt to say to yourself, “I like myself, and here’s why” from time to time.

4. Conversely, what negative qualities do you wish you didn’t have? This list might come easier than the previous one. We can be so insanely hard on ourselves, but that’s not what this is about. Rather, it’s realistically evaluating what needs work. There’s no one like you, sure, but your negative qualities are shared with plenty of other folks. Want to be done with your negative qualities? Don’t fret. You can choose to do better. Identify them, and if they grow out of some actions or habits you have, stop doing them. Work on yourself – consider this “Project Me.” Change, and the world will change for you. Identify your negative qualities, but don’t marinate in them.

5. And this: If you eavesdropped on people talking about you, what do you hope you’d hear? This is a telling exercise. This is not, not, not about changing yourself to please others. It’s a matter of being authentic, and knowing your authenticity is honorable. Be real. Be virtuous. You’ll stand out, and in the best possible way. You’ll be part of a noble minority. There are plenty of posers and phonies out there, and they’re easy to spot. Don’t be like that. You want people to think highly of you, but you don’t want to have to pretend. Be like Popeye – “I yam what I yam.”

There’s no one like you. That should be the best news you get today.

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Personal thought: If you are a person of faith, I would appreciate your prayers. I’ve been plagued with kidney stones most of my adult life. I just turned up with a monster, about 9mm, which is too big to pass on my own. So Oct. 24, Thursday, I’ll be having an outpatient “procedure,” a lithotripsy, to bust that thing up so that I can pass it. I’ve had this done before, and it’s not very pleasant, but it’s tolerable and certainly better than any alternatives. This blog was written earlier just because I knew I’d be out of commission a couple of days. Thanks.