do one's own thing

English

Etymology

1960s counterculture.

Verb

do one's own thing (third-person singular simple present does one's own thing, present participle doing one's own thing, simple past did one's own thing, past participle done one's own thing)

1. (idiomatic, possibly somewhat dated, informal) 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.
   • 1977 October 3, “Behavior: Psychobabble”, in Time, retrieved 8 December 2019:

     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?

   • 1988 July 1, John S. Wilson, “Sounds Around Town”, in New York Times, retrieved 8 December 2019:

     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.

   • 2010 December 11, Gill Sutherland, “I want my kids to rebel”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 8 December 2019:

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

   • 2016 May 12, Shannon Proudfoot, “Sophie’s role: What do we expect of prime ministers’ spouses?”, in Macleans, Canada, retrieved 8 December 2019:

     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.

Synonyms

• suit oneself

Translations

do what one considers best

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: tehdä mitä miellyttää (latter verb always in third-person singular)
• French: faire son truc (slang)
• Polish: chodzić własnymi drogami (pl) impf
• Spanish: ir por libre