Why Be Unique?

It seems one of the American dreams is to cultivate uniqueness. This is what fuels a lot of our consumerism:

The desire to purchase something which exhibits our personal vanity of our own personal uniqueness.

But the philosophical question:

Why be unique?

AUDIO

Podcast link >

We want to mirror reality

Perhaps the first goal:

We want our exterior appearance to mirror our internal reality.

If we truly believe we are unique, then we want our possessions and external avatar to also reflect our inner-uniqueness.

I don’t want to be alike.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had a big ego. I’ve seen myself as stronger, smarter, and more keen than my friends.

The truth is I see myself larger (in my mind) than I am in reality.

For example:

I can only squat 350 pounds, but in my mind I can squat 405 pounds.

My mind is more powerful than my body.

I disdain the idea of being similar to others

Tokyo flash, RICOH GR II. Escalator.

Part of my personal pride is this:

I don’t believe I am alike anyone else, nor do I think anyone else is like me.

This is my personal pride. This is why with my clothing, possessions, and lifestyle, I HATE it when I see someone who looks like a clone of me. Why? Because I realize I am a clone of a certain ideal. This is one of the reasons I don’t like to wear ‘all black everything’– I am simply another clone of this ‘minimalist’ aesthetic.

What is the best way to distinguish ourselves?

People in elevator. Japan

It seems a bit basic to distinguish yourself with consumer products.

For example:

I don’t want to own a Leica M10, because everyone already has it. I prefer my (more rare) black-paint film Leica MP.
I don’t like having straps made by others; this is why I design my own products (HAPTIC INDUSTRIES).
I don’t want to be another photographer on Instagram. This is why I deleted Instagram and started ARS instead.

But the problem is this:

I am an American at heart, and consumerism and materialism/capitalism runs deep in my roots.

To be frank, I will always be who I am. I will always have some consumerist desires for X, Y, Z, but at least I am honest about it. I don’t want to fake virtue signal that I’m somehow ‘superior’ to others.

Unique individuals succeed more, and are happier

ERIC RIVERA: Philly

I think this is WHY you should strive to be more unique:

The more unique you are, the more interesting you are, and the more you will ‘succeed’ in modern society.

It is easy to become a clone– a basic replica of all the other stereotypes in society. More fun to avoid ALL BOXES, and become a ‘cult of yourself‘.