8 Tips to Embrace Your Weirdness (it’s a creative asset)
The best things are weird. They’re memorable, inspiring and just more fun. For me, normal means I’m holding back while being weird means I’m fully expressive.
I choose being weird every day of the week.
So welcome to my top tips on how to embrace your weirdness.
As a musician, artist and blogger, oddities are a really good thing. It’s related to your authenticity, creativity and confidence. And it makes you stand out.
But the secret is this: we’re all weird. The trick is just in knowing what that means for you and then fully embracing it.
So with that, let’s get into it!
Table of Contents Show
What Is Weirdness?
Weirdness is the positive measure of what makes you unique and stand out. It often goes against the grain in some way.
If I were to dissect weirdness, it would mostly be made up of:
Your quirks
A little bit of contrarianism
Some authenticity
And not really caring if you look a little off
So let’s look at some examples of creatives embracing their weirdness.
Examples of Awesome Creative Weirdness
Embracing Your Weirdness (the benefits)
It leads to novelty and fresh ideas
It’s a form of personal growth
Handle failure and setbacks better
Help you stand out and differentiate
Connect with new friends more deeply
Have more fun
Handle stress and anxiety better
Attract more people and things in your life that make you better
Inspire others to be their unique selves
How to Embrace Your Weirdness (8 tips for creatives)
Ready to embrace your epicness? Perfect.
Here are my favorite tips.
1. Define What Weirdness Means to You
“Weird” means something different for everyone. So you should probably define what your own weirdness means to you.
Here are some questions to consider:
What makes you different and unique?
How would you define your authenticity?
Who are your “weird” idols?
Why do you want to embrace your weirdness?
If you’re struggling, you can ask close friends and family for their thoughts (if they’re the honest type) and try some self reflection too (meditation helps me here).
The goal is to just get some clarity about how you define, view and feel about weirdness (both your own and other people’s).
2. What’s Holding You Back?
Normal isn’t a default state. We’re all weird.
So what’s preventing you from fully embracing that awesomeness?
These are bottlenecks and identifying them is important to move forward.
Once you know what’s causing your apprehension, you can become aware of them and create personalized workarounds for them.
Here are some common reasons we’re afraid to embrace our inner weirdness:
A fear of judgment
Social pressure
It’s uncomfortable and feels awkward
Preconceived ideas about weirdness being wrong or bad
Negative past experiences
3. Learn Your Quirks (+ own them)
Part of what makes you wonderfully weird are your quirks.
These are differentiators that elevate your creativity, uniqueness and general wellbeing. So it’s helpful to learn what they are (and then totally own them).
This is a form of self awareness.
So here are some tips for learning (and owning) your quirks:
Pay attention to how you act when alone
Fail at trying to be someone else (this is a great way to discover you)
Lean into your curiosities and spontaneity
Try new things and hobbies
Do some self reflection
Look for traits, not perfection
Do things outside of your comfort zone
Ask your friends and family
4. Hang Around More Awesomely Weird People
As Jim Rohn puts it, we are an average of the five closest people in our life.
So who do you spend the most time with?
Do they elevate and celebrate your weirdness?
Or do you feel awkward being your true self around them?
It’s hard to fully embody your weirdness if the people in your life make you feel guilty or embarrassed about it.
So, while it’s not always easy, cutting ties or networking with new people can help you better embrace your weirdness.
5. Don’t Aim for Praise or Social Growth
Nothing throws a wrench into authenticity quite like social comparison, chasing trends or worshiping algorithms.
To best embrace your weirdness (and become a stronger, happier creative), you should aim to do things for you (and for you alone).
Social growth and metrics are nice, but they lead to diminishing returns and are unsustainable.
It leads to creative anxiety and holds us back from fully expressing ourselves. So stay aware of this trap and don’t make metrics a core goal.
Make creativity, happiness and self expression your target.
6. Sharpen Your Creative Intuition Skills
Creative intuition means listening to and following your gut.
We all have intuition and sense of being pulled in certain directions. While some people may be more in tuned to this calling, everyone can access it.
It’s like a muscle.
Creative intuition doesn’t care about looking like an idiot or being successful. So it’s a great way to better embrace your authenticity and inner weirdness.
Here are some quick tips to sharpen your creative authenticity:
Work from your creative flow state
Do more testing and artistic tinkering
Become aware of your inner voice
Try body scanning
Try intuitive writing or journaling
Do something creative (art is highly intuitive)
7. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone More
Embracing your weirdness can be uncomfortable. So getting better at discomfort helps.
Comfort zones are great for familiarity, rewards and relaxing. But they usually do little for growth.
If you’re struggling with embracing your weirdness, part of the reason is because it’s uncomfortable. So let’s shift focus to that concept.
The idea here is simple – the more you do uncomfortable things, the more comfortable you’ll be doing them.
This includes embracing your weirdness.
So here are some ways you can practice stretching your comfort zone:
Define your comfort zones
Take baby steps
Try new things and be a beginner
Recommended: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone (10 tips)
8. Practice Self Love
Embracing your weirdness means loving your weirdness. So let’s practice some self love.
For me, self love means:
Prioritizing doing things that you love
Being absolutely stoked about yourself and what you’re doing
Allowing yourself to be who you want to be
Embracing your weirdness is self love.
So remember that. You’re taking care of you – never feel awkward about that.
Conclusion
Your weirdness is your magic. It’s a good thing and learning how to embrace it will make you more authentic and happier.
It’s especially helpful if you’re a creative or looking to grow a personal brand.
By identifying your quirks and your bottlenecks, you can learn to develop your inner uniqueness and turn it into an uncopyable strength.
So with that, get out there and go be weird.
Want More? Okay. Here’s More.
