Be Yourself; Everyone Else Is Already Taken

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken is said by Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright (16 Oct 1854- 30 Nov 1900), known for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. He became one of the most popular playwrights In London in the early 1890s. He is no more today, but his words have made him immortal.

I read this quote on the internet and instantly felt an amazing sense of freedom. I had developed a smile on my face, and I reread it five times to absorb the full beauty of this quote- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

Meaning of- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken

This quote has a deep meaning, just like every other good quote. The author tries to convey that you are enough, and you should not waste your time copying others. You can be the best version of only one person in this entire world- and that is you. Everybody is unique; you are one among them. You have your unique talents and qualities; you have your unique experiences; you have your unique creativity. If you don’t know you have all these, then discover it. We all have hidden jewels deep within us, and life is all about identifying them; we should bring them out so that everyone can benefit from us.

Why you should be yourself

Have you ever felt that you are not satisfied when you try to be someone else, you feel that you lack something? It happens. Being ourselves can be one of the best choices we can ever make. Following are three benefits of being yourself-

1.You will be free to do what you love

When you are not yourself, you are what others expect you to be. That’s how most of us live our lives- according to others. This is the best way to ruin your life and guarantee regrets when you grow old. But when you be yourself, you are free to do what you love to do and not what society expects. Caring about people and society is a significant obstacle that kills the dreams of many, but since you have accepted yourself and have decided to be yourself, now you would have a non-caring attitude. You will develop it gradually; it doesn’t happen in a day. This attitude will make you feel free and spend more time with your purpose, your ikigai.

2.Life will be happier

I have seen people trying to copy others, trying to do the same thing others are doing. This may give temporary success, but in the long run, regret and dissatisfaction are inevitable. When you are yourself, you learn to accept yourself. Accepting yourself can give you the ultimate peace needed to be happy in life. When you accept yourself- your weaknesses, strengths- you would realize that you don’t have to compare yourself with others because everyone has a different story. You would be satisfied with whatever qualities you have and use them to give your best. You would be the happiest when you are connected to yourself.

 3.You will use your superpower

When you try to copy others, you would be very limited because you are not using your superpower. And what is your superpower? – You. You are your superpower. When you are yourself, you would be utilizing your unique talents to create something valuable for you and the world. As I said earlier, everybody has hidden jewels deep within them. You would be bringing those jewels out for everyone to benefit- and this could be anything- arts, inventions, products, or services.

How to be yourself and not others

Till now, we saw what is the meaning of- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. Then we saw the importance of being yourself. Here in this section, we would see how actually to be yourself. Following are three steps that could help you to be yourself.

1.Accept Yourself

Most of the time, we are just complaining about our weaknesses and regretting the mistakes we have committed in the past, blaming others for our lives. All of these are not going to help us in any way but create more problems.

The best thing to do in these situations is to accept and forgive yourself. Accept all your weaknesses, accept that you are responsible, forgive yourself for all the mistakes committed. You have to accept your weaknesses because nobody is perfect, everyone has weaknesses, everyone commits mistakes.

Once you accept yourself, you would feel deep satisfaction. You won’t hate yourself; instead, you would develop an understanding. You will be in peace with everything. You will be yourself.

2.Work on yourself

If you don’t like yourself, then work and improve what you don’t like. With continuous and dedicated effort, you can do anything. So, figure out what you don’t like about yourself and then work on it. For example, if you are overweight and don’t like your body, then you have to put effort into losing weight. Wake up in the morning, go for morning walks, practice yoga, eat only vegetables and repeat it every day. Just do it.

 3.Love yourself

Now that you have accepted your weaknesses, it’s time to develop some love for yourself. I believe the best way to be yourself is to love yourself wholeheartedly. People are trying to be others because they love others more than themselves. They don’t realize they have unique qualities and talents. So, you need to discover your talents if you don’t know them yet. Your talents and qualities can make you fall in love with yourself. Love yourself for everything you have– parents, health, the device you are holding, internet, food, water, electricity. Don’t take things for granted because there are unfortunate people out there whose dream is to live the life you are living right now.

Conclusion

Let’s recap what we have learned from this article. Be yourself; everyone else is already taken means that you don’t have to live anybody else’s life but your own. You have your unique talents and qualities; you have to discover them and use them to create something valuable. When you be yourself- you become free to do what you love, your life would be happier, and you will be using your superpower. And to be yourself- you have to accept your weaknesses, love your strengths, and work on what you don’t like about yourself. Meanwhile, if you are tempted to live anyone else’s life, remember- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

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