do one's own thing

Definitions

To do what one considers to be best suited or most satisfying for oneself; to do what expresses one's distinctive interests or talents; to do as one chooses.

dated, idiomatic, informal, possibly

Equivalents

Examples

“The psychological patter of the '70s is as inescapable as Muzak and just as numbing: Are you relating? Going through heavy changes? In touch⟳ with yourself and doing your own⟳ thing?”

“This weekend, Mr. Rouse is doing his own⟳ thing: leading his own⟳ quartet with John Hicks on piano, Santi DeBriano on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums, and playing his own⟳ compositions.”

“OK, so I want⟳ my kids to find⟳ their own⟳ way, do their own⟳ thing, become⟳ their own⟳ people.”

“If we look⟳ at Stephen Harper’s wife, she was basically a non-entity in public. She maintained real distance from political life and just kept doing her own⟳ thing.”

CEFR level