Favourites - why they need more respect
We all have favourites, but do we have too many?
No matter if it’s a car brand, ice cream flavour, sports team, piece of art etc. we all know what we like and don’t like. Or at least we think we do.
There are over 8 billion people in the world, each with a completely unique neurological makeup, determining how we perceive the world. Every person with a traditionally functioning brain interprets the world in their own way. However, the majority of us are swayed by modern-day media, influential figures, and a lack of real world experiences.
We have become too scared to show our true colours, find out what we really like and why we love it - conforming to trends and “popular opinions” has become all too easy and more importantly, negatively impactful on our outlooks on life. By no means do we all need to live completely unique lives, each with their own magical purposes. However, taking more time to discover and create instead of just consume, consume, consume, could be the starting point for a generation of much more purposeful existences.
Having a favourite is such an amazing thing.
We’re all guilty of seeing something we like that makes us happy and saying “Aw that’s my favourite!” or “My favourite thing is when ____ does ____ “. Out of all the ‘paraphernalia’ in a specific niché, if you can confidently say which is your favourite, we can learn so much about you. The ability to pin point one of tens, thousands or millions of things and label it as the one that resonates with you the most is amazing. When it comes to knowing someone, these are the building blocks of what makes them unique, what makes them one in 8,000,000,000+. Whether its athletes, songs or languages, there will be no two people who align exactly on everything. Thats the beauty of it. Life is about experiencing, meet as many amazing people as possible, learn about their favourites and why it’s their favourite. Experience something you thought was your least favourite - and find out more about it.
My favourite athlete. New Zealander, Geordie Beamish.
Geordie recently became world champion over the 3000m steeplechase in Tokyo earlier this year (after falling in the heats) and was previously the world indoor champion over the 1500m in Glasgow 2024 - two of the most competitive events in the sport at the moment.
He’s the best tactitioner, an insanely composed racer and one of the best kickers in the world. It’s an absolute spectacle to watch him race. His outlook on the sport is very refreshing after having multiple injuries, overcoming all adversity. “You can’t take anything for granted in sport … enjoy the good times and persevere through the hard times.” Switching from the 1500m to learn a whole new event in the steeplechase at that level in his pro career was very inspiring to watch.
You don’t always need to know.
There’s definitely a beauty to the unknown. Often times the thought of something can be ten times more mystical than in reality. However, if all you ever live off is expectation and imagination, never actually experiencing anything for yourself or making your own opinions, are you really living?
The world of design is built on this idea. Confidence is key.
Anyone can practise sketching, 3D modelling, photography or video editing for hours and become good at it. Ultimately this isn’t where purpose and impact come from. It’s the ability to make decisions, dictate what moves are or aren't being made and tie that into the skill you have worked so hard to master. Confidence, not to be confused with arrogance is rooted in knowing yourself, what you like, what you believe will work and having the humility to accept when the outcome isn’t what’s expected.
“Confidence is believing in yourself and your abilities, while arrogance is thinking you are better than others and acting accordingly” - Stewart Stafford, Irish Author
So what point am I making? The beauty of knowing what you rank the highest, in any walk of life is something truly amazing and individual. It’s a never ending process and something that changes every day based on how we feel. Next time you experience something evocative, take an extra minute to formulate your own opinion on it before jumping on the “widely accepted opinion“ band wagon.
Live your own life, create whatever you want, experience as much as possible.
I’m writing this blog post now after a summer of immense experiences, travelling all around Europe to some of the biggest athletics meets and meeting some of the best athletes in the world. Reading this back, I can say that not only do I sound like some know-it-all preacher, but my ability to act with confidence > arrogance has gown massively. That goes for all aspects of my life, from design to social interactions to interviews with athletes - all purely from jumping in the deep end and giving it a shot.
The end goal isn’t to have a bullet-pointed list of your favourite things, it’s the personal development that comes from trying to find out.
”It’s not how fast you run, It’s who you become trying to see how fast you can run” - Coach Mike Smith, professional athletics coach credited with establishing a running dynasty at Northern Arizona.