The uniqueness within us

There are more than 8 billion people on Earth. Call it a miracle, science or God’s master design; every single one of the 8 billion+ souls is unique. Physically speaking, barring identical twins and lookalikes, most people are easily recognizable by their facial features, body dimensions, walking habits and specific external characteristics. In the case of physically similar individuals, the biological and the genetical differences come into the picture. No two people have exactly the same fingerprints, the same biological characteristics and the same DNA. Even the genetically indistinguishable (almost) identical twins have different fingerprints and non-similar physical attributes. Every single one of us is physically, biologically, and genetically unique. Even if our exact copy is created, the uniqueness in terms of the thought process remains. Two physically, biologically, and genetically same individuals will, at any given time, have different thoughts, different feelings and different reactions to a single event. It can, therefore, be concluded that every single day we think uniquely, conjure up unique ideas, pose unique questions and provide unique solutions. This conclusion is of utmost significance in the context of this post and is utilized in the following paragraphs.

At present, our world is in an advanced stage of development when compared to the world we lived in 10 years ago. Newer technologies have been developed in every field, additional inventions and discoveries have been made, a ginormous amount of new literature has been published, hundreds of new businesses have come up and multitude of fresh ideas have been floated in the public domain. For an average individual, this is an already saturated environment for further research, development or invention - what else can top the latest, most advanced and the thoroughly researched? This argument must’ve been as valid 10 years ago, as much as it is now. Yet, today we are at a much higher level of achievement as compared to the past. Therefore, despite the current advancements in every field, the possibility to invent, discover and contribute to each one of these fields remains alive. For every invention or discovery made, business idea developed, sporting record created, literature written, etc., there is a further chance of discovery, innovation, improvement and contribution. The possibilities are limitless and the boundaries non-existent. The single biggest reason for this is the aforesaid ‘uniqueness of every individual’ and the associated capacity to further add on to the previous work done or the level reached. Why then do we not see every human being achieving the impossible in his area of interest or expertise?

Among all the people around us, 99 out of 100 have left it to their circumstances, fate and other individuals / organizations to decide what they want to pursue in their lives. For these people, the advantages of their uniqueness and the resulting contributions have already been lost and all their efforts for physical and financial survival are inadequate to make any difference to the functioning of the world. The rest of the people, who do make a conscious choice regarding the area of interest they wish to devote their lives to, have a fair bit of chance to improve upon the previous human achievements. However, within this small community of people, a big majority lacks the hard work, self-discipline and perseverance required to make their uniqueness count. The small minority left has the devoted individuals who do make full use of their uniqueness, but again consist of a good number of people who are self-doubters. They have the skill, the dedication and the self-awareness required for making a difference but lack the all-important self-belief and hence remain on the fringes of greatness. The last tiny group of men and women is the one that builds upon the past accomplishments of our race, explores with confidence all that needs to be explored and tweaks the functioning of the world as per the distinct thoughts and ideas of its members. So, does this mean that the rest of us are mere spectators or an audience to the deeds of this group during our stay in this world?

The passive ones amongst us who want to let things be the way they are and intend to just enjoy the available time in this world are indeed observers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach of living as long as one feels contended and is happy about being an onlooker. However, the rest of us who wish to create a spectacle, want to develop our own audience and desire to leave our unique imprints on the world, howsoever small, have the capacity to do so. The ingredients required are the already available uniqueness, the need to choose, hard work and the capability to ward off self-doubt. As regards the perfect time to start - it's now, this very moment!