How to better differentiate yourself

I've given some thought to differentiating myself lately. A session that we had at Professional Development had the fortunate side effect of making me really think about this type of stuff.

So often you see everybody else saying obvious stuff like, "I'm reliable," or, "I'm an honest person." Well, of course you are. Everybody is. Or, more importantly, everybody claims to be. I want to highlight that I think I am too but I don't make a habit of stating it. I'd prefer to have that type of information pass unspoken in an effort to legitimize it. What people really need to do is to take a look at themselves and find out what makes them different.

We pretty much did this in the seminar I was at and we found four words that ended up describing me. I was adventurous in that I enjoy travel, eclectic in that I try to embody the "best" of all my interests, creative because of how I like to express myself, and a people person in that I enjoy meeting new people and being social. Already we can see that this is way better than honest and reliable. In looking at yourself this way, suddenly you're not just part of the herd but someone that really stands out. How many other people can say they have the exact same four words that describe them for the same four reasons? Not many, I'll bet.

Since going back to school I've given a lot of thought about not repeating what I had done in the past. Not that I made any mistakes, really, in the way I have acted and presented myself in the past, but I find that I am a different person than I was three or four years ago (Hell, even two for that matter) and I have to show that in making an effort to not be the same. So whereas before, when I would have presented myself a certain way, I may not choose that presentation anymore. That's not to say that the past isn't a component of who I am today, because it totally is. I'd like to believe that I can keep improving this Tyler Milson thing and make a really good one that is always improving. Hopefully I'm right. And you know what? So far, so good.