Sophie Kairouz– Contributor

In today’s era of brain-numbing, overstimulating content, creativity has become a rare commodity. Everyone watches the same videos, follows the same trends and has gotten used to repetition as a means of personal expression. This desensitization towards copy-cat behaviour has made regular self discovery abnormal to the point that when someone has a hobby, people make it their full identity instead of seeing it as something normal. 

Image courtesy of Gabrielle Lalonde

Is it really normal for the minority to be people who satiate themselves outside of their phones and routines? Why is that so rare nowadays? While some people cower at the thought of being observed, others thrive in their individuality. As someone who helped mentor people on developing the confidence to express themselves and discover their personal taste, I’ve noticed the same behavioural and mindset patterns in people again and again. These observations lead me to believe that there’s a recipe to becoming more expressive. So, what is the first step? 

Most people with confidence have had a sense of self for as long as they could remember. Due to this, they can’t remember ever working at gaining confidence, therefore, when they’re asked how they’ve reached their level of self-assurance, they don’t know how to answer. This makes confidence feel like something you have to be born with, but it can be developed. A lot of people think the secret to gaining confidence is “fake it ‘till you make it,” but that doesn’t work. People who fake confidence spend a lot of time trying to convince you that they’re fully sure of their decisions and of who they are. People with real confidence don’t need you to approve of them or be impressed by them. They do things for themselves. The foundation step to confidence is simpler than people imagine: Trying something new that you’re interested in but that you talked yourself out of. Maybe you decided it’s too niche or lame, or you’d be bad at it or no one would understand why you’d like it, but they don’t have to understand. When you do things for the experience, others’ opinions become less important. 

Because of the echo chambers we end up in due to our social media algorithms, we are made to believe that very niche sub-cultures of styles and interests can please everyone, but the truth is, nothing will ever please everyone even with a record amount of engagement. We all like the things that we see for different reasons. You can begin to develop your personal taste by understanding what stands out to you in the things you like. Eventually, you may realize that there are not many things that you enjoy in their entirety. The more you discover yourself, the more you will gain a sense of personal vision in the things that you do. From personal vision, creativity flourishes and so does a desire to produce what you’re looking for so it exists in the world. As one local social media influencer, Isabella Dawn, put it in an interview: “A lot of people criticize boredom, but it’s a gateway to discovering new things and it gives you ideas.” Self-discovery is the root of true creativity. Through trial and error you will discover the most about yourself. 

To develop your personal taste and creativity you need to hold yourself with confidence. To have confidence, you must embrace your individuality. In a way, confidence and taste are highly overlapping characteristics. To achieve both, you mustn’t worry about the opinions of those who do not inspire you. It’s hard to find your own direction through contrarian eyes.