Difference is a wonderful thing we should all welcome into our lives and yet too many people fear it and turn that fear into hate.

Weirdness is often seen as a negative trait but what if we embraced the whacky, eclectic, crazy and eccentric and what if that was part of our everyday creative process? Imagine the possibilities that could emerge from pure creative expression, without restrictions of convention and expectations.

So many of the things that we use today in our lives were created by someone, someone that may have been viewed differently when challenging the status quo. Inventors, physicians, scientists, philosophers, healers and the list goes on. If you look back through history, some of these great people have suffered professional humiliation and discrimination for their work, until, much later, their work was heralded as genius.

What is it that drives people to be different? Is it the desire to change things for the better? The need to fix a problem to a current issue? Make the world or society better in some way? Whatever their ‘drivers’ are, they do not deserve insult or severe criticism for their ideas.

In education, here in the UK, asking questions can be frowned upon and even discouraged. I have personal experience of this and it’s stifling, to say the least. Without questioning, how can we understand the world?

Freethinking is a wonderful process that is not only beneficial to solving problems but it’s also great for wellbeing. You may often hear about people being ‘in the zone’, where they are lost in their work and creating wonderful things. This state of ‘free flow’ can only be achieved through letting go of restraints and conventional thinking. To forget everything and allow anything to happen.

As a writer, the practice of just writing down whatever comes into your mind is a great way to loosen up and let the creative juice start to flow. It’s a certain way to fight ‘blank page blindness’.

As a painter, a blank canvas is not something to fear but an opportunity to play.

Think back to when you last lay down in the grass and watched the clouds roll by, or floated on your back in the sea. What random thoughts did you think? Did you start to see faces or creatures in the clouds? Did the things that you were worrying about seem that little bit better?

Okay, so getting back to ‘wierd’. I encourage you all to think of being weird as a fun thing, something that creates positive energy and gets you into your zone! Personally, I’d say that being weird is pretty cool.

Oh, and don’t get me wrong’ there is nothing wrong with convention, per se. Convention is a constant that brings order and safety to people. However, there is, equally, nothing wrong with being different and challenging that convention, if you feel that it needs to be changed.

If you’re weird, shout about it, nurture and cultivate it and smile! Who knows? You may just change your world for the better!

#positivethinking #weirdness #affirmations #positivevibes #beyourself

Jason Conway is a multi-award-winning creative designer, photographer, artist and writer based in Stroud, Gloucestershire UK. Find out more about him and his creativity at www.thedaydreamacademy.com.