What's Wrong With Being Different?

What's Wrong With Being Different?

It’s easy to stay focused on the negative aspects of being different. Thinking of the negatives about your situation is the natural response. However, dwelling on the negative is usually harmful to your mental health and well-being.  Instead, try to see the positives of being different and focus on these things; you’ll notice a drastic difference in your outlook on life.

There are many advantages of being different mentioned by those whom we interviewed with a variety of differences. I asked everyone in the study to list several benefits of being different and I chose the most frequently mentioned elements for each category. I list just a few of the benefits from each category here in this post.

Let’s start with the one closest to my heart: being a short male. If you are tall, you may want to skip this section just like the short people may want to skip the section for tall people. Again, these replies are taken verbatim from interviews with people in each category. 

Advantages of Being a Short Male

• "Legroom on an airplane or bus is never a problem for me."
• "I never have to worry about hitting my head on things like chandeliers."
• "I often look younger (which becomes an especially good thing as I age)."
•  "People feel less threatened by me."

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Advantages of Being a Tall Woman

• "I have athletic advantages."
• "I can see over the heads of many other people in a crowd."
• "I stand out."
• "I can walk faster because I have longer legs."

Advantages of Being a Different Race/Ethnicity

• "It’s great to feel unique in a homogenous society."
• "It’s great to have tan skin."
• "I can connect with people who speak my language."
• "I stand out in a crowd."

Advantages of Being Underweight

• "I can fit into clothes in the kids section and the junior's department, which doubles my selection!"
• "Weighing less makes it easier to participate in sports and physical activities."
• "I can fit through narrow spaces."
• "I can stick my arm down the sink to get stuff out of the garbage disposal."

 

Advantages of Being Overweight

• "More to love!"
• "People view me as being loveable."
• "People like me to give them tight hugs."
• "People view me as a protector."
  
  

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Credits 

 The article was posted by: Nathaniel Lambert

 Original title: The Many Advantages of Being Different