There are over 7 billion people on this planet, and each and every single one of these people is different from the next. There are not two people who are exactly 100% the same. We have different eyes, hair, lips, hands, feet, and skin. We come in different shapes and sizes. We have different cultures and religions and we speak different languages. There are many individual pieces that combine together to make one person whole and while some people may share the same puzzle pieces, no two people have all of the same pieces in common, which inevitably makes us different. And that is definitely a good thing.

Could you imagine having someone in your life that was completely and totally like you? How would you feel knowing that there was somebody who looked just like you from head to toe? Would you like to have someone else in your life who thought exactly the way you thought, acted the same way you acted, laughed the way you laugh, spoke the way you spoke, dressed the way you dressed, and believed every single thing that you believe? I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want that person around. There would be something very unsettling about having someone who was exactly like me in every single way hanging around. It wouldn’t be very fun because part of what makes interacting with other people so interesting are the differences that we have, and if we didn’t have any differences among us and we tried to fit in with everybody then each one of us would eventually start to lose what makes us special.

And sometimes trying to fit in seems appealing to us. We think it will make life easier, so then we start to do things that will make us more like everyone else. We want to fit in so badly, that we start to be untrue to who we are. We change the way that we act when somebody tells us that it’s not right for us to act the way that we act. We change our hair and the way that we dress when another person tells us that our hair and clothes are inappropriate. We change the way we speak, when how we speak is a direct result of our experiences and environment that helped to make and shape us to be who we are.

Sometimes we forget that it is our differences that make us valuable. It is our differences that make life exciting. It is our differences that make us who we are, so instead of spurning our differences we should welcome our uniqueness and hold on to it.

Embrace your individuality positive thinker. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, it shouldn’t matter what other people think about how you act and behave because other people shouldn’t tell you how to live your life. It is your life after all, and no one knows how to live it better than you.

Only you know if you’re being true to yourself.

No one else can make that decision for you.

And if you’re not being yourself positive thinker, then try stepping into your own skin for a change.

Just imagine how much better you’d like yourself if you tried being you instead of somebody else’s version of you. If you are willing to put in energy into being someone other than you, then why not try putting the same energy into trying to be yourself. Making the decision to be yourself instead of trying to be someone else is a freeing decision to make, so make the decision today to stop letting other people tell you who you should be.

Don’t let other people tell you that you’re not good enough, when you are good enough just by being you.

If you’re a shy, quiet, introverted, nerdy, pianist, then be that person. If you’re a loud, extroverted, glass half-full, sassy, chemist then be that person, and if you’re a surly, messy, realistic, energetic, entrepreneur then be that.

Don’t be afraid to be different. Don’t be afraid to be you. And in the words of the beloved children’s book author Dr. Seuss: “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

Be you positive thinker, because there’s nobody else out there who can do it better than you.