Read David Rendall’s “FREAK FACTOR: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness” http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/45.02.FreakFactor and read my summary and critique below!
In Freak Factor, David Rendall states that we all have flaws and weaknesses, but we need to embrace them. Weaknesses are really just indicators of strengths and if we try to fix them, we will lose the strengths that go along with them. These weaknesses also make us unique or freaks, but a freak in one situation can be a hero in another, so we need to find where our freak fits. I think that each and every one of Rendall’s nine suggestions are valid. We each to need to learn the value of our uniqueness and weaknesses, as well as those of others, if we do not embrace these qualities, we won’t find where we fit. This is a fantastic article, and I think it so important to learn the value of ourselves and our apparent weaknesses.
6. Focus: You Can’t Do Both
I think is one of the most important and valid points in the whole article, and one that I have found to be true in my own life. When we try and do too much and do it well, we end up spreading ourselves too thin and ultimately do none of it well, or we are cranky when we do it and we don’t enjoy even the things we normally would enjoy. Like Rendall says, “We have limited resources,” and we don’t have the time and energy to do it all, so we should do things we enjoy, that we are good, things we can exceed at. Why do things you can’t do well and spend so much time focusing on those that your strengths suffer? Focusing on both strengths and weaknesses leads to mediocre results across the board. We can’t do anything really well if you don’t have the time or energy to spend on it and if focus solely on fixing your problems, you might end up diminishing your strengths in the process. In my creative life, I think I need to focus on film because that is what I love and it what I enjoy doing and I’ve been told I’m pretty good at it. I love focusing on details and sometimes miss the bigger picture, but they need people to look for the smallest things, because they have other people to look at the bigger picture, so I should just do what I do and do it well.
7. Fit: Find the Right Spot
This is an incredibly important point, because so many people feel lost and confused and like maybe they are not doing the right, all because they haven’t found the right spot to do what they are doing. It is so important to find the right and places to let your ideas grow and flourish and become the creative person you are truly meant to be. We need to celebrate our flaws and see that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses and in different situations and at different times we need all of these different abilities to get the job done and do it well. Rudolph would never have become the hero he is today if he had given up, he stuck it out and kept trying until the situation changed and he found his fit. “You need to choose situations that fit your natural strengths,” not adapt to fit the situation. We have all tried different ventures that turn out to be busts, and it can become very disheartening, but then that one perfect group, or hobby, or experience comes along that makes it all worth it. Just keep trying until you find your fit, it might take a while, but you will find it.
8. Freak: The Power of Uniqueness
I love this suggestion, when you really think about it, the people you admire and keep in your lives are the people that make it interesting, the people that are different from you, that do different things, and bring new and unique ideas to the table. No one wants to stick around if you bring the same things that everyone else is bringing to the table. That one flaw could be the thing people love about you, the thing that they come to see, and fixing that flaw could destroy your uniqueness. Anyway efforts to fix a so-called flaw usually fails, but it is worth the effort to maintain the flaw. “People will always try to get you to straighten up, to be normal, to stop being a freak,” ignore them, they are not going to be around if you are normal, your uniqueness is what draws others to you, people are going to make the effort to see or hear the same old thing. Don’t be normal, be the exception. Make what you want to make, do what you want to do. Wouldn’t you rather be remembered for making something weird, than be forgotten for making something that has been done a hundred times before?
As far as the creative process is concerned, I have found my strengths to be focusing on details, remembering specific facts, and seeing the little things that make a film what it is, and my weaknesses are being so focused on details that I forget the main objective or big picture, I am also really hard on myself and get really down if I make a mistake, I also have a hard time sharing my creative ideas and thoughts with other people, even though it is a necessity in the creative world, otherwise what would be the point?
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