We live in a world that tells us we need to stand out from the crowd to be successful, but on the other hand expressing your individualism can be deemed negative; the more you blend in with everyone else, the more compliant and safe your life will be.
You express your individual style, opinions, thoughts and beliefs and you’re immediately told by society that you’re weird, attention-seeking or eccentric. Trying to be yourself can be a game of judgement and many people don’t dare to take that step for fear they’ll be judged or rejected for who they really are and this only leads to ultimate unhappiness.
Whether you love her music or not, Lady Gaga has been a pioneer and representation of individuality, creativity and just plain weirdness and does she care? Who knows, we’re not inside her head thinking her thoughts, but one thing’s for sure – she’s not afraid to keep emulating her weirdness and advocates the need to show that weirdness is just our true beauty shining through.
Fuelling Bullying For Drive And Success
Being a naturally creative child, Lady Gaga didn’t shy away from being different at school and that inevitably brought negativity from others. Bullying was a big part of her life and it was mainly down to her daring to have her own sense of style. For anyone who has been bullied, it is something that can affect the beliefs and thoughts you have of yourself for years. For Lady Gaga, she channelled this into her drive to succeed and just follow her dreams and passions.
“Bullying really stays with you your whole life and it really, really never goes away. And I know you’re using words like ‘superstar’ and ‘most-Googled’ and ‘billions of YouTube [views].’ But I was never the winner. I was always the loser. And that still stays with me. And do I want to stick it to anybody? No. I just wanna make music.”
She shows bullying can make or break someone – choosing to go against the hurtful comments and negativity can be hard but can also be a huge fuel in moving forward being your best, creative, weird self.
Rejection Is Not Failure. Be Yourself To Succeed
Being a classically trained pianist, Lady Gaga pursued her creative talents to break the music industry but it wasn’t easy. At 19, she signed to Def Jam records but not as the wacky-dressed lady we see today. Despite her love of being different, she tamed herself down in order to try and fit in with the record company ideals. After a few months she was dropped, it seemed she wasn’t gaining success with her mainstream image. A lesson that compromising on your true self will never truly get you to where you want to be. Would she have been successful without the outlandish costumes and hairstyles? Possibly. Would she have been happy? Possibly not.
Embracing Uniqueness For Success
Embracing her weirdness and getting back on track lead Lady Gaga to get noticed and landed herself a job as a songwriter for Interscope Records. From then on her success only got better and better. Making the decision to claim back her unique style and with the resilience she built up from negative feedback, she was able to create music in a way she probably only dreamed of.
Embrace The Weirdness In Order To Love Yourself For Who You Are
If Lady Gaga is to teach us anything, it’s the importance of accepting ourselves for who we really are. Whatever your journey in life, you can’t make the most of each and every positive path without the ability to love yourself. To live a truly happy and successful life, you have to be true to yourself, ignore the naysayers and the criticisers and be pleased with the person you are. Happiness can’t be found outside of yourself, it can only come from within and it all starts with accepting yourself and embracing your unique qualities.
Revolutionising The Concept Of What’s ‘Normal’
Her battles with not ‘fitting in’ and bouncing back from constant negativity from others around her, has made Lady Gaga a true advocate for those in society who are marginalised and made to feel abnormal for not slotting in to society’s ideals. Her strong empathy for people who are victimised for just trying to be themselves are not only shown through her unique sense of style and personality but through her songs.
Love her or hate her, Lady Gaga represents hope and inspiration for many of her fans and shows that we’re all unique and weird in our own way. Be yourself – be the true weirdo that you are because in reality, there’s no such thing as normal.
Featured photo credit: ceoworld magazine via ceoworld.biz
