In the wild, nature has coded into every creature the instinct to blend with its environment — to survive, stay safe from predators, hunt for food, and reproduce.
Perhaps this is why humans, too, appear so similar. Travel anywhere in the world, and you’ll see people dressing, speaking, eating, and behaving in ways that reflect their surroundings. In families, we teach our children to be like us. In organisations, we design policies, procedures, and expectations to align everyone with the company’s vision, values, and culture.
We’ve mastered the art of camouflage — adapting until we look and act like the environment we belong to.
Maybe that’s why we struggle when someone stands out — when a person disrupts the familiar rhythm of daily work. Our instinct is to tame them, to bring them back in line, to protect the comfort of sameness. And when change is needed, we rarely inspire it — we enforce it, ensuring the entire tribe moves together.
But what do we lose through this broad-brush assimilation?
Perhaps individuality — the spark that challenges the status quo and lights a new path.
Perhaps creativity — the fire that burns away the mundane and the meaningless.
Perhaps revolution — the force that propels humanity toward unimagined possibilities.
No one truly knows. But our differences hold immense power — the power to transform everything.
When we tame individuality for the sake of uniformity, we smother that power before it can breathe.
Maybe it’s time to find a better way — to preserve and celebrate individuality not as a threat to harmony, but as its vital source.
Uniformity keeps us safe. Individuality moves us forward.
