In Defense of Individuality

A huge part of depression, it seems, is the feeling that you just don’t fit in, and that nobody understands you. The feeling that you’re alone.

This feeling of singularity can be a major factor in precipitating depression in the first place, and it can also intensify as a direct result of depression, aggravating and perpetuating itself in a cycle of pain.

Let’s face it. We can’t fight evolution. As human beings, we are genetically wired to be social creatures, and we all desire a sense of belonging. This feeling of belonging is a most potent antidote and even prevention to all sorts of illnesses – depression included – and it is a worthy goal to aspire to, and to spend time cultivating.

If you are depressed, I believe it is absolutely essential to maintain close relationships with friends, despite any inclination to withdraw into your own pain. Do whatever you can to stay around positive and happy people, even if you suck the energy right out of the room. This may require you to be selfish, but any friend worth having will tolerate you.

For these reasons, fitting in and participating in a community are essential.

That being said, I assert that being unorthodox is in itself nothing to be feared. In fact, I strongly believe that it should be encouraged. What better way to cultivate a sense of self-worth – crucial to fighting and preventing depression – than to explore and push your own boundaries, and to know that there is no one in this universe who can be the person you are – who can do what you do, see the way you see, think the way you think, and act the way you act.

Think about that.

It’s not a matter of being egocentric. No person is so irreplaceable that the world would fall apart without him or her, not even President Barack Obama. But you are a purely unique individual – the only of your kind that will ever exist throughout all of time.

And that is a beautiful thing.

I don’t care what job you work, or what labels you (or other people) associate with yourself. You could be a garbage disposal worker, the United States Secretary of Energy, or a murderer sitting on death row. You are the only you.

Within each of us lies the seed of genius. Why not grow it to its fullest expression?

Why play it safe and conform when as far as we know, we’ve only got one shot at life? (It’d be pretty dumb to bank on anything else)

Why not express yourself?

Express yourself…

Express yourself…

Come on and do it…



-N.W.A.



If you run more with the Transcendentalist crowd, try Emerson:

"THE OTHER DAY, I read some original statements written by a famous painter. Whenever I read something truly original, I get a feeling. That feeling is far more valuable than the statements themselves. The feeling fills me with a recognition of a profound truth: That genius is simply to believe your own thought. To believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all."

Now I’m not saying you should go psycho and neglect the basic rules of society (Thou shalt not kill, those kinds of rules). And as I’ve already mentioned, it’s important to cultivate a feeling of belonging, if at least for reasons of health. I also very much agree with whoever said that the only way you can accurately assess yourself is through the mirror of your relationships with others.

Furthermore, it is important to avoid trying to be different just to be different. This is quite as harmful as conforming, if not more so. Check out Bruce Lee’s words on the matter:

"Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there."

So how do you go about developing your own genius?

To be honest, it starts with imitation. Just think of how a child learns. There's a reason they love to play the "copycat" game. It’s annoying as hell for you, but incredibly educational for them, because through imitation they implant the ideas in their mind for drawing upon later.

So listen. Read. Experience new things. Think about those things, using what you’ve heard and read. Draw your own conclusions too. REPEAT.

Whenever you do anything, bring all of your past experiences and reflections on those experiences (however seemingly irrelevant) into that new thing, and strive to grow as much as possible. You want the neural connections in your brain to be sprouting all over the place. Let there be neurons firing from all corners of your brain whenever you tackle any challenge. Let there be some serious crosstown traffic (Jimi, anyone?). There’s a reason the experts find all these links between art and music, and music and math, and so forth.

So to recap:

Read, read, read.

Think, think, think.

Act, act, act.

Reflect, reflect, reflect.

Grow, grow, grow.

REPEAT.

Express yourself.

-David

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