Advantages of Being a Weirdo.  By Jane A Gordon

All of my life people have called me a weirdo. Since I never knew how to be anyone other than myself, I feel normal to myself, so the comments were always confusing. For years I used to ask for an explanation of what exactly I said, did, or was, that was weird. Not one person ever gave me a description. At best I got a laugh, or some amused, slightly snide comment.

Eventually I accepted that I must be a weirdo…. and let me add, happily accepted that I am a weirdo.  

I concluded that since I like myself, being a weirdo must be a compliment. 

After that, any time someone called me a weirdo I would just give them a big smile and excitedly say "Thank you!"

Becoming a Happy Weirdo
You Can (Might?) Be a Happy Weirdo, too.

This got me thinking about how I came to this place of being so comfortable with being a weirdo.

Being a dorky, chubby cheek, buck tooth kid with coke-bottle-glasses who preferred getting lost in books over playing with other kids led me to be the target of some bullying.

The mean-girls were awful, I didn’t want them to like me, didn’t care what they thought or said, and certainly didn’t want to be in their nasty pack of friends, where they turned on each other, too. I was fine with myself. 

Being bullied liberated me from people-pleasing!

• It wasn’t until my 30s that I realized a few things about people.
• That people-pleasing was even a thing.
• Some people care about what others think of them.
• Some people keep a lot of secrets, they don’t want others to truly know them. Why? Are they ashamed of themselves?
• Even if you care what others think of you, it’s never really going to be about you. We all look at each other through the lenses of who we are. A liar will think people are lying, a cheater will think others are cheating, and a kind person will see kindness in others. Whatever the mean-girls thought they disliked in me… well, they all needed to look in the mirror.

If one isn’t there yet, how do we get to a place where we truly know and like ourselves?

My mom used to say that one should never do anything we would be embarrassed or ashamed for the world to know. Taking that a step farther, I concluded we should clearly define our core values, and always live by them.

We are all a mix of good and bad in many ways. Negative emotions and challenging situations can lead us to allow our darker side to make decisions for us, leading us to behave in ways in which we won’t be proud.

Defining our core values helps guide us when we might be wavering, so we continue to be guided by the best of ourselves.

Living by our core values is liberating. We are who we want to be, and so are fine with being seen and known. We are not concerned with what others think of us because we not only know ourselves, but we also like ourselves, too.

Freedom  = Nothing to prove + Nothing to hide 

And really, if you haven’t realized it yet, the only ‘normal’ people are the ones we don’t know. Is anyone perfect? All we can be is perfectly our authentic self! We are all weirdos, so let’s celebrate.

Advantages of Being a Weirdo Details

So, this all brings me to the fun part: Why is being a weirdo the BEST?!? What are the advantages of being a self-accepting weirdo?

• • Not following the crowd...so never get caught in traffic
  • Be what you want to be, so happy with yourself
  • Liberated from worrying about what others think of us
  • Authenticity… people around you can feel that- it builds trust
  • Open mindedness…of course
  • Do what you want to do, when you want to do it, with whom you want to do it!
  • Naturally dancing like no one is watching
  • Problem-Solving
    • Unconventional thinking often leads to unique approaches, seeing and creating solutions which others might miss.
  • Creativity: Embracing your weirdness allows for genuine self-expression without the fear of judgment, stimulating personal growth
  • Innovation: Many breakthroughs come naturally from uniquely creative thinking.
  • Thinking outside the box
    •  When I was showing my jewelry on cruise ships, one of the officers said, “You make some of the officers uncomfortable, because we are just trying to keep our jobs, but you’re thinking outside the box.”
      
      Excitedly I answered “There’s a box? Where’s the box? Why didn’t anyone tell me about the box???”
      
      Kidding aside… what box?
      
  • Resilience: Embracing your weirdness builds resilience against societal norms and expectations, cultivating an even stronger sense of self-confidence.
  • Memorability: Who won’t remember the weirdo?
  • Adaptability: Being comfortable with your weird side can make you more adaptable to change, as you are less concerned with fitting into the expectations of others.
  • Inclusivity: Weirdos naturally appreciate and celebrate diversity and differences, creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all.
  • Social Magnetism: Some people are drawn to the unconventional and find the weirdos to be interesting.
  • Personal Fulfillment: Being true to ourself, weirdness can lead to a deeper sense of personal fulfillment and satisfaction.
  • Humor: Seeing humor in everything, I am always making jokes, mostly to amuse myself, but anyone around me is welcome to come along for the ride.
  • Making your own rules: coloring outside the lines:

    
    The person I just mentioned described how she always loved and followed rules. She told me that even at age 7, she yelled at friends for coloring outside the lines. She said that it was well known by anyone who grew up with her that if she saw someone violating the lines she would take away their crayons. Especially at her house, using her books and crayons, one absolutely had to “color perfectly within the lines.”

    
    To make the story even funnier to me, she also insisted her parents grade the finished pages, and choose which was done “more perfectly.”

    
    Grading art? I always tell young artists that there’s no right or wrong way to create, and not to worry if they are good or bad; just enjoy the process, follow your heart and soul, do your best, and then go out and find the ones who love your art. 

  • As I write this piece, I am coincidentally chatting with someone about following rules, which is not something I’ve ever done. The analogy came up about coloring inside the lines. When I was a little kid, my baby-sitter and I were both drawing in coloring books. I was shocked when I saw hers… all inside the lines…. I didn’t even know that was a thing!
    

In summary, being weird can add a touch of humor and playfulness to life, making it more productive and enjoyable for you and those around you. So, let’s get out there and be our own uniquely weirdo selves! I look forward to our weirdo interactions! See you on the weirdo side!