If Someone Has These 11 Strange Habits, They Are Exceedingly Rare And High Value
They're more intentional and emotionally aware than the majority of people.
Look Studio | Shutterstock Many people who struggle with low self-esteem, loneliness, and a lack of emotional intelligence have a “why try” attitude that sabotages their self-growth, according to a study from World Psychiatry. Their own self-stigma prevents them from trying new habits, making mistakes, and growing their own bodies and minds in intentional ways, so it’s no surprise that they’re stuck in stagnant, unfulfilling routines.
However, the routines of the healthy, happy, and most importantly, fulfilled, are unique and personalized. And if someone has these strange habits, they are exceedingly rare and of high value. They don’t just “try” and put in effort to grow — they are comfortable enough to try unique and eccentric habits that the average person would overlook or write off.
If someone has these 11 strange habits, they are exceedingly rare and high value
1. Writing everything down
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Rare and high-value people often have a notebook or journal with them at all times. They’re always writing to-do lists to be more productive, brain dumping to relieve stress, and reflecting on their days to grow their own self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
According to a study from Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, this kind of expressive writing often has many psychological benefits — from reducing stress and anxiety to boosting personal self-concept and image. So if you see someone scribbling in the corner or writing in a journal with no end in sight, they’re extremely rare and high value — with a lot of insights, wisdom, and self-assuredness to offer.
2. Spending a lot of time alone
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While spending a lot of time alone and appreciating solitude regularly are often societally “strange,” with pressures to be 100% available and social all the time, they’re also habits of extremely rare and high-value people. Not only does alone time tend to provide space for rest, relaxation, and reflection, but it also offers time for people to invest in themselves. It boosts mental health and general wellness because it’s empowering.
Whether they use this time for a hobby they haven’t tried in a while, experimentation with personal interests, or to simply unpack what happened during the day, someone who appreciates their own company is incredibly rare.
3. Hyper-fixating on random things
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Whether it’s researching and being obsessed with a certain part of the world, diving into news about a specific thing, or taking on a random hobby or instrument, if someone has these random hyperfixations, they are exceedingly rare and high value. Their brain seeks mental stimulation in all forms, and they’re not worried about social expectations or stigmas that may steer them in another direction.
Of course, alongside experiences like ADHD, the loss of interest in these things after a period of hyperfixation can often be destabilizing, confusing, and shameful, like experts from Relational Psych explain.
However, for mentally stable and emotionally intelligent people, they know what tools to rely on to cope, and often find a new hobby or interest to fill their space and excite their minds over time.
4. Randomly detoxing from social media
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Even if it’s unexpected to their friends and peers, if someone randomly detoxes from social media and entirely disconnects from their phone, they are exceedingly rare and high value. Not only do they reap the mental health benefits that come from a short (or long) break from social media, but a study from Behavioral Sciences argues it also benefits sleep, life quality, relationships, stress, and physical well-being.
Especially in the current digital landscape of the world, where so many people’s well-being, sense of self, and gratification come from social media and their phones, it’s rare to see someone disconnected. But, at the same time, it’s a high-value trait to be able to set and keep those boundaries, even to the extremity of disconnecting completely.
5. Questioning everything
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According to a 2021 study, there’s often a link between asking questions and general intelligence. The ability to question things is often uncomfortable and difficult — you’re turning over the stability of the unknown and diving into things that you may not fully grasp or understand.
Even if it’s not asking questions in an actual conversation, but rather questioning their own decisions, social norms, and large-scale issues, if someone has these strange habits, they are exceedingly rare and of high value.
6. Talking to themselves
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Even if it seems “strange,” talking to yourself has many benefits, including regulating emotions, boosting motivation, and managing passing thoughts. Especially if you’re feeling stressed out amid a chaotic life, this is one of the habits that could make a difference in immediately relieving anxiety and overwhelm.
If someone has these strange habits, they’re exceedingly rare and high value. They’re not only self-assured enough not to care what anyone else thinks about them, but they also grow from the tangible benefits of talking to themselves, while everyone else suffers with emotional suppression and chronic stress.
7. Keeping their private lives off social media
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Even if they're pressured to share everything on social media and to curate a specific image, if someone is willing to maintain their boundaries online, they’re exceedingly rare and high value. For some people, that means keeping their private lives off social media, while for others, it may be posting without worrying what other people think.
No matter what they are, setting boundaries can be incredibly difficult — especially when they’re tested. Space from social media can mend stress and relieve depressive symptoms, but if you’re unable to keep and maintain boundaries, you’re more likely to suffer at the hands of screen time.
8. Rearranging their living space often
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While some people may sit with the discomfort of feeling uncomfortable at home or even suppress their anxiety about feeling unsupported, rare and high-value people aren’t afraid of change. Even if it’s rearranging their living room furniture or changing the layout of their bedroom at 11 p.m., when something isn’t right, they experiment and take action.
It’s one of the strange habits that actually characterized a rare person’s powerful qualities, both on a literal and figurative level. They’re the calm in the storm of change, but they also provoke it, pushing themselves to seek out new levels of insight, fulfillment, and comfort.
9. Caring more about vibes than aesthetics
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In our digital-focused world, where curating an “aesthetic” and always being the most curated version of yourself is key, caring more about “vibes” is a superpower. They’re not afraid to dance in uptight rooms. To laugh loudly and hug their friends, even in sterile rooms with a lack of warmth. They care more about “vibes” — how they and everyone around them feel — than keeping and maintaining a certain aesthetic in their life.
Not only does this add to the joy and fulfillment they experience in their everyday lives, but it also ensures they’re not stuck in a box personally. They have the freedom to change their self-expression, identity, interests, and routine whenever they want, because they’re not feeding into an all-encompassing “aesthetic” for other people to judge.
10. Manifesting and being witchy
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Whether it’s manifesting their desires with journal prompts in bed at night, lighting candles and casting out intentions, or being their generally “witchy” selves in a rigid scientific world, if someone has these “strange” habits, they are exceedingly rare and highly valued.
It takes a lot of empowerment and self-assuredness to stray from the norm, but for people who truly believe in their power, align their energy, and take action, manifestation and visualization are truly powerful.
Of course, if you’re cynical and distrusting, these habits and hobbies aren’t going to work. But for the few rare, high-value people who make time for it and grow their practice, it’s powerful for their self-esteem, relationships, and life.
11. Living and searching for meaning
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Even if they don’t have the freedom to seek out meaning in their careers — the kind of fulfillment that society most commonly describes — rare and high-value people find meaning in everything else they do. From the color of the sky to the stranger they converse with at a coffee shop, they find meaning in all the small, unsuspecting moments of their lives.
While this may seem strange and unnecessary for the average person, it’s a rare superpower that adds fullfilment, joy, and purpose to their lives with ease. They grow into the best version of themselves every single day, because they’re always learning, finding meaning, and living out their purpose.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
