The famous Hollywood movie series, ‘X Men’ talks about a special breed of humans with extraordinary powers. Other than being a huge box-office success, the movie brings to light a fundamental premise, that each one of us is unique and possesses special talent and skills.
This unique talent or quality within us is our X-factor. Our X-factor sets us apart from others, yet a majority of people spend their life conforming, or blending in with others, instead of shining their inner light.
The individual who is able to express his X factor is passionate, committed and effortless in his art, and driven by something that is larger than life.
He is able to live life as a celebration of being. Watching somebody like Yanni performing live, or Steve Jobs talking about the latest Apple product, we are able to see masters in motion.
So how do we activate and maintain our X-factor?
- Align your X-factor to a larger than life goal – When you align your talent to a greater cause, it acquires strength of purpose and moral validation, which can help you to surge ahead on your path despite challenges or setbacks. For example, Oprah’s qualities of heightened empathy and interpersonal skills helped to create a wildly successful talk show that drew attention to vital social issues such as pedophilia, anorexia, addiction, grief, illness, crime and family breakdown, to name a few.
- Excel in your chosen area – Develop your passion to the best of your ability. Only then it can qualify as an X-factor. In the book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell says that it takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field. Hence, inculcate a habit of learning and upgrading your knowledge, to joining a class, intern with companies working in your area of expertise, even offer to work probono, and find a mentor who can guide you. The more you practice your craft, the more you can excel and revel in your X-factor.
- Believe in yourself – Believe in yourself, because if you don’t, nobody else will. It’s normal to be unsure or hesitant – but this hesitation should only spur you to work harder instead of allowing you to give up. And gradually you will begin to develop a better understanding and appreciation for your abilities.
- Maintain a positive attitude – In psychology tests, when people are shown a white sheet of paper with a small black dot and asked to describe the same, a majority of them observed only the black point. Likewise in life, we are primed to spot negatives both in ourselves and others. Maintaining a positive upbeat attitude helps us to embrace all that life has to offer and in the process discover new insights or ideas to strengthen our X-factor.