My friend and colleague Paul Lyons writes some great posts and he makes some great comments and observations here regarding being yourself – after all, everyone else is taken.

One of my life experiences and one which I frequently observe in the people I coach is "that happiness, fulfillment and personal success comes more readily when you are being yourself and not trying to fit into structures, situations or agendas controlled or determined by other people.

It is not to say that you can’t be materially successful by fitting in, because of course you can, but more often than not you have to dilute or suppress elements of yourself to do so.

It's reasonable to believe that you are only truly fulfilled and satisfied when you are in control of your own destiny and are making the most of the opportunities and challenges in front of you.

I like the comment on success by author Richard Koch in his 1997 best seller “the 80/20 Principle’’ where he says

“Most of our failures are in races for which others enter us. Most of our success comes from races we ourselves want to enter.”

So, you’re more likely to win and be successful in life if you can achieve the goals you desire and not the goals set by other people.

This is one reason why I subscribe to the MTQ48 4C’s Mental Toughness framework - because it is an extremely valuable and practical approach through which to successfully navigate life’s challenges and opportunities.

Within the 4C’s you can learn how to take control of your life and emotions to get more things done more often and have the self-belief to successfully take on new adventures.

Being mentally tough provides the sense of being in control and feeling comfortable in your own skin whatever the circumstances and achieving your desired outcomes more often than not.

So, if you are tired of fitting in, then break out, define your purpose and learn to dance to your tune.