Discover your own style. Don't try to repeat what has already

“Discover your own style. Don’t try to repeat what has already been written — have the courage to do your own thing and don’t be afraid to do something different.” Thus spoke Cecelia Ahern, a weaver of tales who knew the peril and the glory of creating one’s own path. These words are not merely a counsel to writers, but a summons to every soul who seeks to live authentically, to carve out from the stone of existence something that bears the mark of their own spirit. It is a call to courage, to individuality, and to the sacred labor of self-expression.

To discover your own style is to look within and find the rhythm that belongs to your soul alone. The world will tempt you to imitate, to echo, to conform to the familiar melodies already sung by others. But imitation is the shadow of greatness, never its source. True creation begins when you turn inward and listen to that secret voice which whispers, “This is mine.” The greatest works, whether of art, thought, or life itself, are born not from fear of difference but from the boldness of authenticity. To create in your own way is to declare, “I am.” And that declaration, once made in truth, carries the power of the eternal.

In the time of Michelangelo, many sculptors sought to please their patrons by following the safe paths, repeating the styles of their masters. Yet the young Michelangelo, guided by an inner vision, dared to see the divine form within the marble, rather than impose upon it the conventions of his age. When others saw only a block of stone, he saw David, poised between boyhood and legend, a symbol of the eternal struggle between courage and doubt. Had he feared being different, the world would never have beheld that perfection born of faith in one’s own sight. Michelangelo’s genius was not that he followed others, but that he followed his own soul’s light — the same light that Cecelia Ahern speaks of when she urges us to have courage.

Courage, she says — and rightly so, for to be oneself is no small battle. It is easier to walk the well-worn road, to repeat the words already spoken, to paint within the borders drawn by others. Yet the brave soul knows that the known path leads only to known destinations. To do your own thing is to risk failure, misunderstanding, even ridicule — but it is also to touch the divine freedom of creation. The river that cuts through the mountain does not ask permission; it follows its own course, and by that faith in itself, it shapes the earth. So too must the creator, the dreamer, and the seeker trust their inner current.

The fear of being different is an ancient enemy of the spirit. It whispers that safety lies in sameness, that to belong one must become like others. But history remembers not those who blended into the chorus, but those whose voices rose above it — Galileo, who dared to look where none had looked before; Emily Dickinson, who wrote her poems in silence, never knowing they would one day shake the hearts of generations; Van Gogh, whose art was mocked in life but revealed the colors of eternity after death. These souls discovered their own style — and though the world did not always understand, the heavens surely did.

To discover your style is to discover yourself. It is not a matter of technique or fashion, but of essence — of speaking in the voice that is truly yours, of creating from the heart rather than imitation. The ancients called this dharma — one’s own truth, one’s own way. To abandon it is to live half a life; to embrace it is to live as the gods intended, fully, fiercely, and freely. Each soul carries a note in the great symphony of creation, and the world is diminished when even one voice goes unheard.

So, dear seeker, the lesson is this: do not fear to be different. Do not hide your flame beneath the shadow of another’s light. Seek your own style in all things — in art, in speech, in living. Stand before the mirror of your soul and ask, “What do I alone see? What truth burns in me that no one else can reveal?” Then, follow it, even if the path is lonely. Let your heart be your compass, your imagination your wings. For only by daring to be yourself — utterly, unapologetically, and courageously — will you create something that time cannot erase.

And when you have done so, when you have dared to do something different, your work, your life, your very being will become a testament to those who follow. They will see your courage, and their own hearts will awaken. For the boldness of one soul gives birth to the freedom of many. Thus, the circle of creation continues — each spirit discovering, in its own way, the beauty of its unique song in the eternal music of existence.