Just be yourself... or Don't?!

I was having a conversation with a friend about all the things that make me “me” and how it affects my life, perhaps adversely. His advice was “just be yourself”; an advice often given in such situations, but does it often work? Sometimes, you feel you have been yourself long enough but it hasn’t resulted in what you need it to. So I started thinking:

Anyone who has ever dealt with people -long enough to form a relationship, any kind of relationship like friendship, neighboring, business, etc., and even in our relationship with our family- understands compromise. We often give up pieces of ourselves, in order to comply or fit in with others, voluntarily. As simple as an outing with a group of friends, perhaps everyone wants to see a romantic movie, which you don’t like, but you go along anyway so you don’t end up watching an action movie on your own. There is no right or wrong about this, things are just either the way you like them (which is often ideal and improbable) or they are a compromise to something that all parties involved can “accept”. Is there a point to being yourself all the time, if it means that you don’t come to terms with anyone else most of the time?

Another thing to consider when being “yourself” is: what if you are a despicable jerk? Hehe ok I am just being dramatic, but let’s say that the whole of you include many bad habits that alienate people, or if you don’t care about alienating people, then at the least hinder you from achieving your ultimate goals, whether happiness or success, or inner peace. Does trying to be better go against “just being yourself”? Would it make a difference if you decide how you’d like to be better or if others told you what you should change? We can certainly change ourself to better in order to be happier and have people around us like us, but wouldn’t it mean so much more if we are accepted and liked for who we are, without stressing ourselves out to change?

There are definitely many questions in my head when it comes to self-identity, but as a main theme, I’d like to ask you:

1- Would you rather be yourself, to be true to yourself, or control who you are in order to fit in generally?

2- Should you accept yourself as you are or try to change for better? 

Let me hear your own thoughts below, and don’t forget to subscribe and share if you like what you read!

Who thought of it first?

I just read a status that my friend, let’s call her Sarah, wrote that was a “sort of a” deep reflection on an aspect of life. The thought in the status was more or less the same thing that another mutual friend I have, let’s call her Linda, had been repeating recently. Now, Sarah and Linda know each other well, and they have engaged with each other more lately. And the thought expressed by Sarah, whom I am familiar with pretty well, didn’t seem like something she would say... So I started thinking:

Whether we realize it or not, many of us are very impressionable. As social creatures, we tend to look for things in our surroundings to guide us in the way we think or act. Yes we often reflect on things on our own, but even that solitary reflection is often spurred by something we saw or someone we heard. Many times, we see ourselves repeating in our heads something other people had said. Whether we are agreeing to it, or denying it, the fact remains that we are driven and affected by it. Maybe it was something we were subjected to today, or maybe it was many little things we were subjected to over a span of years that we don’t even remember anymore, but they are there in our heads, guiding how we think.

Being impressionable is a double-edged sword... It can be used for good or for evil. For example, we want children to be impressionable by good behavior, to deduce their own thoughts of “we should be/do good”. But likewise, they are vulnerable to bad impressions and can end up with "bad" thoughts. Think of it in terms of trends... How trends come to happen is that one or a few people create or think of something, which leaves a very big impression on so many highly-impressionable people, and they follow it and spread it around. (Read more about this here: Malcolm Gladwell’s book “The Tipping Point”). But even those who seem to have “originated” the thought, were mostly inspired (got the impression from) by someone else who got it from someone else, and so on and so forth. So I ask:

1- Do you believe that there is anything as an “original” thought anymore, or are all our thoughts just bits and pieces from others here and there?

2- Which do you think travels faster: a good thought or a bad thought? And how can you motivate a good thought to travel while refraining a bad thought from traveling?

Please share your thoughts to the questions above in a comment below. And if you have enjoyed reading this, I hope it "impressioned" you to subscribe to my blog, and share this post! Thank you ^_^

Should I get a Lenovo PC?

According to the press release below, Lenovo has been recently announced as the number 1 PC supplier, de-throning HP after a long time of being n# 1.

Now I have been using Macbook white for the last couple of years, and I've been really suffering with it lately, which is making me consider shifting back to a less-premium Windows ultrabook. Lenovo was one of the brands that I saw, but didn't consider, since, as most consumers, I thought: Low price = bad quality. So I was going for an HP or a Samsung. Now I am definitely reconsidering... What do you think?

Lenovo Statement on PC Industry Rankings

Riyadh, July 14th, 2013: According to the latest industry figures reported today by IDC and Gartner, Lenovo has become the number 1 PC supplier in the world. IDC reported that Lenovo reached 16.7% global PC market share in 2Q 2013, up from 15.0% in 2Q 2012, one year ago. Gartner stated Lenovo reached 16.7% share this quarter, up from 14.9% last quarter and the same 14.9% from 2Q 2012, one year ago. This marks the first time that Lenovo has been the clear global leader in PCs according to both of these widely accepted reports.

The following statement can be attributed to Yang Yuanqing, chairman & CEO, Lenovo:

“We are proud that Lenovo has become the clear world leader in PCs, and we are grateful to our customers and to our global team for this success. Even in the toughest PC market ever, Lenovo has not only gained share, but we have steadily improved profitability and introduced even more innovative products for every market segment. The battle for PC leadership could certainly still go back and forth. But I am fully confident that there remains substantial room for profitable growth and groundbreaking innovation in the global PC marketplace.

The PC market is changing, but it still represents a $200b opportunity. Lenovo can capture more of this opportunity than our competitors because we have built great balance over the last 4 years. In our traditional strongholds -- China and global commercial PCs -- we have continued to gain share and build sustainable profit engines. Meanwhile, we have built scale and improved profitability in global emerging markets (where we are the leader) and global consumer PCs (number 2 overall). Balancing growth and profitability across our entire PC business is our focus going forward.

PC leadership is just one milestone in a longer journey to become a true leader in the “PC Plus” market, which includes tablets, smart phones, smart TVs and other “smart connected” devices. Already, we have made great strides in these areas. Today, we are the number 3 “Smart Connected Device” maker in the world. By continuing to focus on our formula for success – a clear strategy, innovative products, great execution and a diverse global team – I am confident that we can continue to drive profitable growth in our core business, and achieve the same success, over time, in the fast-growing PC Plus marketplace”.

Historical Performance from 2012-2013 05/23/13 Earnings Report: 

In Lenovo’s fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, IDC said that Lenovo had achieved a record global PC market share, expanded faster than the overall PC market for the 16th consecutive quarter, led the market in three of the seven largest PC markets – China, Japan and Germany – and reached double digit share in 39 countries.

More than half of Lenovo’s revenue then comes from outside of China. While delivering significant volume and revenue growth, the company’s profitability reached record heights with earnings up 34% last year.

Further, Lenovo has accelerated its transformation to become a top competitor in the PC Plus era, capturing a 5.9 percent share of the global market for “Smart Connected Devices” and becoming the third largest supplier. The company is the number 2 smartphone and number 2 tablet company in China, the world’s largest PC+ market. Further, more than 10% of the company’s revenues now come from hot growth segments such as smartphones and tablets.