It’s pumpkin spice season. How do I know? I can’t take one step without seeing another thing that now also has a pumpkin spice flavor. I happen to think that pumpkin spice is the grossest creation ever, but apparently i’m like – the only one.

I don’t know if Starbucks was the first to bring forth this {dreadful} phenomenon… but like so many other things, once something gets some attention, or is surprisingly successful, all of a sudden everyone wants a piece of the proverbial pie. Oh, people like pumpkin? Let’s sell that too!

This happens all the time with products, and also with pretty much everything else. Someone makes something… it becomes popular… everyone copies them – even if it doesn’t align with their brand or even make sense – because they want a piece, even if it’s a super small piece, of the attention {and the potential profits}… they can’t pass up even the chance of an extra buck.

Eye roll. Every time.

Starbucks has the pumpkin spice latte. They came out with it more than a decade ago and it was more successful than they ever expected. Everyone loves it {except me}, there’s like a cult following or something… I don’t know for sure… I definitely don’t understand it, and now – everyone, everywhere, has a pumpkin spice flavored something for fall.

Yesterday I saw pumpkin spice greek yogurt. And then I saw that Reese’s now has pumpkin spice Reese’s cups? Gross. So just out of curiosity I looked to see just how many pumpkins spice things there are these days. Whoah.

These are juts a few of the choices. Basically you can get pumpkin spice anything. But really, pumpkin spice gum and listerine? Really? Pumkin spice condoms? Seriously? I mean, maybe sex with pumpkin spice Durex and chewing pumpkin spice Extra gum are two of the most amazing experiences one could have in life. I’ll never know.

Here’s the point – Just because something works for one person, doesn’t mean that it is the right thing for you.

When we feel like we need to take steps to be like someone else in an effort to appeal to certain people, or increase our desirability, we are inevitably taking a step away from our own truth… and away from being able to really be seen for our own spectacular unique selves.

There is a big difference between intentional exploration and discovery that keeps us growing, and changing into something that isn’t aligned with our authentic self for the hope of more attention, or because we feel pressured to do so in order to be successful, to keep up. There can be a lot of pressure to be doing the same thing as everyone else, to feel like that’s the only way to succeed.

Sometimes staying true to ourselves might not look like anything anyone else is doing. If you’re feeling pressure to change to be more like someone else, for whatever reason… check in and make sure it’s really your voice sending that message.