Why it’s still OK to be weird
Your weirdness isn’t a flaw—it’s your unfair advantage.
Gary Bloomer | SHAKING THE TREE # 207
It’s almost a year since I last wrote about the importance of being weird.
Even though we're all individuals, we still live and work in a world that rewards sameness and conformity.
We're inundated with consumer images of ideal lifestyles, and we're surrounded by social media feeds that appear polished and groomed to absolute perfection.
Our careers, our ideas about family, and our visions of relationships are built on established and expected roles of playing it safe.
And more and more these days, the idea of "fitting in" is as often disguised as "professionalism" or "good taste" as it is the done thing.
Weirdness is shunned.
Don't ever be weird, we're told. People will think you're odd. Or worse, mad!
But here’s the truth:
Your weirdness isn’t a flaw—it’s your unfair advantage.
The quirks you’ve been told to hide?
Wear them with glee and pride.
The obsessions that make people tilt their heads? Make it your life's mission.
The way your brain works differently?
Champion and celebrate it.
Your unique traits are the things that make you, you—this is your secret weapon.
Here’s why leaning into your weirdness is the fastest path to standing out, creating meaningfully, and building a tribe that gets you.
Weirdness = creativity on steroids.
The mainstream, the mundane and the ordinary is where life changing, world altering ideas go to die.
Every single groundbreaking notion, invention, theory, and innovation—from the idea that the Earth orbits the Sun and moveable type to the discovery and use of vaccines and the existence of black holes—ALL OF IT started life as something that was too weird, or too radical, or too crazy to work, to exist, or to be taken seriously.
Your offbeat perspective? That’s where the magic happens.
The idea of convex lenses, mechanically propelled boats, and machines that could fly?
Envisioned by a 14th century theologian.
Harry Potter?
Written by a broke single mother who daydreamed about wizard schools on delayed trains.
So, go forth boldly; lean into your bonkers ideas and your obscure niche obsessions because these things hold the clues and the keys to the things only YOU can create.
Weirdness attracts your ride-or-die tribe.
If all you ever do is to try to please everyone all the time you will live a drab life of dull days and unfulfilled years.
But by celebrating, exploring, and sharing your interests in tap dancing ninjas, or whatever floats your boat, you will eventually find your tribe—the people who think like you do.
So if thrash metal is your thing, go out and find fellow doom metal YouTube fans and if you're not finding what you're looking for, start your own cult following.
Ditto if you're a TikToker who only reviews 17th-century recipes, or if you're the only person you know analyzing cartoon philosophy.
Stop watering yourself down—stop diluting your passion, simply to fit into someone else's idea of what's ideal. The right audience WANTS your specific flavor of odd.
Weirdness makes you unforgettable.
In a sea of regular flavour sameness, different > better.
Think of the most memorable people you know:
The colleague who wears vintage astronaut pins every day.
The entrepreneur who starts meetings with a haiku.
The YouTuber who analyzes horror movies like a Shakespearean tragedy.
They stand out because they stopped blending in.
Action: Identify one "signature quirk" and amplify it. (Yes, even in "professional" spaces.)
Weirdness is armour against BS
When you own your weird:
You stop seeking approval from people who don’t matter.
You repel mediocre opportunities that waste your time.
You build confidence that can’t be faked.
Example: Lady Gaga wore a meat dress to the VMAs—then doubled her fanbase.
Action: Do one thing this week that’s "too you" for comfort.
Weirdness is the new authenticity
Audiences smell "manufactured" from miles away.
But weirdness? That’s realness in its rawest form.
Ever fallen in love with a creator because they geeked out about something bizarre?
Ever trusted a brand more because they didn’t sound like a corporate robot?
Exactly.
Action: Share an unfiltered passion in your next piece of content. Watch engagement climb.
The world doesn’t need another cookie-cutter human.
It needs your specific, glorious weirdness—because that’s the only thing that’ll ever make your work uniquely yours.
So:
Stop apologizing for your personal niche interests.
Stop rounding off your sharp, spiky edges in order to fit in.
Start treating your quirks like the superpowers they are.
Your tribe is waiting.
But first, you have to raise the flag.
As always, thanks for reading.
—Gary
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P.S. Next time on Shaking the Tree … Why ‘free’ often backfires.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Originally from the U.K., Gary Bloomer is a writer, branding advocate, marketing specialist, and an award-winning graphic designer.
His design work has been included in Creative Review (one of the UK’s largest design magazines). Since 2009, he has answered over 5,000 marketing and business questions in the Know-How Exchange of MarketingProfs.com, placing him among the top 3% of contributors. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.