Identity theft !
Someone is trying to take away your uniqueness.
by Dr. Asma Ali (Ecologist)
Let me take you to 20 years back, where resources were limited and mobile phones were not too common. But life was running smoothly even on the dilapidated roads.
Festival was near and our preparations were also in full swing. Like today, it was not a trend to make new clothes every second, that is why it was very difficult to choose a dress for myself. Probably every girl has the desire to look the most beautiful and attractive, on the same lines as me and my friends were doing preparation and hiding purchased goods in such a manner as the Kohinoor diamond. There was a fear in almost everyone's mind that no one could copy her dress.
After a long wait, the festival arrived, a lot of dishes were made at home and my job was to go home to all the neighbors and taste this special dish. Frequent guests were also on the move. Only then did my cousin come to my place with her parents. I was stunned to see that she was wearing the same dress as me. This was the only thing that spoiled my mood throughout the day but one has to inform you with regret that this was not new. She would always do this to me.
The matter did not end here, after clearing the 10th board, I decided to take bioscience.The selection of the subject was predetermined. Everything in my mind was so clear about what I wanted to be and how I could achieve my goal. The limit was reached, when my cousin did not hesitate to copy me in subject selection. As far as I knew, she wanted to be a successful painter.
The bad habit of following others without thinking led her to deviate from her ulterior motives. Even after two years of untiring efforts she did not create interest and succulence in her subject then she changed her subject and studied further.
These incidents will remind you of some such people to whom they must have followed others contrary to their personal preference and personality.
Why do people copy one's behavior?
According to Mandy Wessen (2019)- people who copy others do so because they find it helpful to them when they are unsure how to navigate the many choices in life. They copy the other as a reference point to make good choices in their own life. They basically want to get things so right.
Sometimes people copy what you do because they like or are interested in you or otherwise because you have natural leadership qualities.
For me, copying a personality is a bad thing ,while it's flattering to be admired by those we love, being copied can often feel like identity theft. That the other person not only wants to imitate you, but replace you too.Like the other person is trying to make a way for us for our uniqueness. If you scratch the surface it feels like an insidious kind of envy especially in the worst-case scenario.
Mirroring is an acceptable technique to achieve a rapid assimilation and acceptance into any group; just as long as you are honest with yourself and your motives are well intentioned(Stephen Richard Levine, 2015).
What is the difference between mirroring and following others?
Copying others:-
It means to copy or duplicate the original form.
It is done to entertain or ridicule some actions or voices. It is can be termed as 'mimicry' i.e. to imitate the exact one.
In negative terms it means to simply cheat others by taking all the contents or matters of subject eg. malpractice.
Following:-
It means to walk in the path of a person's principles or policies and take yourself as his followers.
It is done with the intention to go behind persons who already started the path or journey and you just need to accompany them.
Copying is an innate human skill, one we need for survival. We copy to learn, to understand and to join social status by mimicking others. But copying a person blindly puts you at a high risk of 'copycat effect'.
Copying a person or following others is fruitless because we cannot follow them completely and every person's experience is unique to them. Still one of the cons in this is the risk of trying to recreate someone else's work and not being able to pull it off.
http://aura-thesaurus.blogspot.com/2019/04/road-of-recovery.html
