In a world obsessed with benchmarks and averages, charting your unique course can feel like walking a tightrope—constantly balancing between striving for more and embracing your individual journey. My relationship with this tightrope has been a long and complex one, shaped significantly by both societal expectations and deep personal experiences.

The Weight and Curse of Comparison

“Mom, I got a C+ in my Italian essay!” I exclaimed, a mix of pride and relief in my voice. The response I got, “Ah ok, how much did your friends get?” exemplifies the comparison lens through which I viewed my achievements and failures alike. This constant comparison was a theme that persisted into my early entrepreneurial endeavors. Such a burning need to prove you are better than what “they” think, to prove your value to the world. Soon enough I discovered this trait wasn’t so uncommon at all.

Society's fixation on averages as a measure of success is a flawed concept, one that disregards the rich tapestry of individual differences. And let’s be clear, we are all affected by it, me first. In the startup world, this becomes even more pronounced. The comparison can be a double-edged sword, driving one to strive for excellence while simultaneously fostering feelings of inadequacy.

"The End of Average"

In my early startup days, Todd Rose's "The End of Average" was a spark of hope. Rose challenges the notion that averages define potential or success. His concept of "jaggedness" resonated deeply, serving as a reminder of the value of embracing my unique path and contributions, especially in the entrepreneurial landscape where no two journeys are the same. Or as the ancient saying goes:

Finding Balance: The Struggle and Harmony Between Individuality and Community

Starting from scratch, I quickly realized the importance of acknowledging my unique strengths while staying open to learning from the community. This delicate balance between maintaining individuality and drawing wisdom from collective experiences has been crucial to my growth.

At the same time though, the more you build your own set of values and gain experience in the world, the more I learned the importance of following my instinct. The more I did that, the more things started to happen. We’ll talk more deeply into the science of manifestation, but looking at the past, I can see how certain things didn’t happen by complete chance in my life.

Like the time when I met my cofounder at Hexagro by completely random connections. This really sounds like the incipit of a joke: I was just back in Europe from a semester living in Colombia, currently living in Denmark for a Master, I participated in a food hackathon where I met a friend and she introduced me to another friend who mentioned to me of a Colombian guy, living in Italy, looking for a cofounder for a food-tech startup. Coincidence?!

Personal Morale and Takeaway

The moral of my story is one of self-acceptance and the recognition that the path to fulfillment is rarely linear or average. Wiser and older people wrote a while ago on an X post I saw scrolling on my feed:

So just focus on growing on any level you can think of and are excited about. Surround yourself with people who are far better than you and quickly learn how to reach their same level of confidence to achieve your goals.

Call to Action: Embracing Our Unique Strengths

I invite you to reflect on your own experiences with societal averages and personal expectations. How have you navigated the pressure to conform, and what lessons have you learned about embracing your individuality?

If, like me, you are still juggling between caring about what the average is and whether you are old enough to start feeling proud about not fitting into any. I invite you to share these thoughts as many others in the same boat can benefit by knowing they are not alone in this process. And it’s not a taboo to admit these are natural phases of life. Not going through them only means you are either a careless narcissist or too afraid to make the step forward.