Bewitched by Your Uniqueness
Those of a “certain age” will remember watching reruns on television after school. There were only 13 channels at the time, no on-demand media, and there wasn’t new programming until the evening. (We also had to wait until Saturday morning for cartoons.) Reruns were all we had. I was partial to Bewitched, a show about a young witch—Samantha, who marries the mortal Darrin. Darrin was a bore. He had no sense of humor and demanded that Samantha not use her mystical powers at all. I remember thinking that she should dump Darrin and go live her life free of his annoying constraints.
When I think about the show now, bad special effects aside, I realize that Bewitched started a conversation about the empowerment of women and how that was represented in different generations during the 1960s. The show clearly invites a conversation about female issues and female empowerment as it centers on strong women characters. This is quite impressive, considering the time period. Samantha’s somewhat adherence to Darrin’s edict isolated and marginalized her. Fundamentally, Bewitched is a show about being unable to be yourself and hiding who you really are.
It is not unusual for people—especially women—to feel as though they masquerade their way through their professional lives. We do this in a number of ways. We won’t apply for the job unless we meet ALL of the listed criteria and requirements. We suffer from impostor syndrome, attributing our success to luck rather than skill, tenacity, or intelligence. We fear that we will be unmasked and exposed as frauds. We self-marginalize. And although the workplace has become much more progressive since the 1960s, there are still deeply ingrained gender roles and stereotypes that we unconsciously accept.
Don’t try to be someone you are not in your professional life. Embrace your weirdness and uniqueness (to a point), and be true to yourself. Now, I’m not saying that letting your freak flag fly at work is a good idea; I’m saying that you don’t have to conform to others’ ideas of who you should be and that trying to fit into some homogenous mold will lead to disappointment!
Data shows that productivity and profits improve when companies make an effort to recruit, retain, and develop talent from diverse backgrounds. Different perspectives drive innovation. When everyone is the same, there is stagnancy. Apply for the job you don’t think you’re qualified for. Express yourself through your clothing, hair, and jewelry. When you are genuine, you don’t feel like you’re faking it. Share your gifts and talents with your colleagues and peers. The rewards will be bountiful. Bewitched was canceled abruptly after 9 seasons, without any closure to the narrative. We never got to see Samantha live her life freely, out in the open. I hope she did!