Just Be Yourself: How Being an Individual Makes You Happier

It may be a cliché, but many people have found that individuality, self-reliance and high self-esteem contribute to overall happiness. Being able to recognize one’s sense of inherent value takes practice because it’s a mental adjustment that takes effort to make. This is easy to do once you turn a certain mode of thinking into a habit. Below are some practical ways to help you achieve a better sense of being an individual.

Be Self-Reliant

Remember that you are your own safest keeper. There is no one else that can take your place as your most reliable being for safety, meeting your needs as necessary and caretaking. The notion that you take care of yourself without another’s help is something that takes a bit of a push. Sometimes this push comes from the outside, like when you leave your parents’ nest to go away to school or move out of their home. Other times, it simply comes from your own sense of drive for independence. Once you figure out how to be self-reliant, you’ll soon realize how free you are from others’ conditions to meet basic needs such as food and shelter. Furthermore, with this sense of independence, you’ll have more control over the decisions that directly impact your environment.

Don’t Buy into Ads

Each day, there is an endless stream of information coming from all ends telling you that you are incomplete without the product that is being advertised. Advertisements are designed to make you feel a sense of incompleteness and dissatisfaction with yourself as you are. The best way to manage these feelings is to reverse their effects by improving your own sense of self-worth. If you feel a sudden impulse to buy a certain brand of lotion that promises smoother skin, take a minute and ask yourself: “What’s wrong with my skin as it is? I love my skin.” This will not only improve your feelings about yourself, but it’ll also save you a lot of money! On the other hand, spending money on things which promote you as an individual can be a great alternative to splurging on products intended to shame your individuality. Don't be afraid to sport a vanity plate and order cheap personal checks to show off your personality to the world. Individuality is nothing to be ashamed of--on the contrary, embrace your uniqueness and don't be afraid to let other people know you have.

Don't Condition Your Happiness on Others

It’s only natural for people to feel dependent on others. People are basically social beings and they yearn to find connections to those around them. Being social is healthy, but developing a deep attachment to a single source that fuels your happiness can be detrimental to your mental and emotional health. If you find yourself returning to the same one or two people to help boost your emotions, take a moment to ask yourself why this might be. Sources might say that people who rely on others to gain happiness deal with issues of neglect from childhood. With improvements on self-love and self-care techniques, you’ll soon learn ways in providing happiness for yourself without the external source, which isn’t always dependable and always out of our locus of control.

Count Your Accomplishments

Everyone has something they are good at. Whether it’s drawing, being able to whistle, or playing cards, everyone is talented in something. Learn to depend on these talents of yours. You can showcase your talent at events or social gatherings, or you can do something that helps you gain a sense of achievement. It takes a sense of discipline to hone these skills but once you learn how to do it, you’ll soon find that your own skills are the gift that keeps on giving. A greater sense of self-worth comes directly from a sense of accomplishments.

No matter what, there are always ways to improve our mental and emotional health. It’s important to find ways to achieve a greater sense of self-worth because this will be the basic source of happiness. People who count on outside sources such as people or material things to gain a sense of happiness are bound for disappointment at some point because those things are out of our control. But self-improvement is a lifelong achievement and developing a stronger sense of individualism will help you be a stronger and happier person.