Sreyan svadharmo vigunah paradharmat svanusthitat;

Svadharme nidhanam sreyah paradharmo bhayavahah — (3.35)

‘Better is one’s own dharma, though imperfect, than the dharma of another well performed; better is death in one’s own dharma; another person’s dharma is fraught with fear.’

Everyone has his or her own dharma, or way of life and work and human relations. According to one’s psychological disposition, a person has a particular bent of mind and work capacities. That is one’s dharma.  Sri Krishna says; better to die in one’s own dharma, than to live in somebody else’s dharma. That dharma is good for that person, this is good for you. Find out your own dharma based on your own mental disposition. Sreyan svadharmo vigunah, ‘even though one’s own dharma is not so high quality, still it is the best for oneself.’ This is a teaching based upon individual identity of every human being, like the individuality of one’s thumb impression. Similarly, there is a psychic individuality. That is based on a certain bent of life, attitudes, reactions, likes and dislikes. All these constitute one’s individuality; let one respect it and not imitate somebody else; don’t be ashamed of yourself. This sloka refers to this need of our part to have faith in ourselves, confidence in ourselves, in one’s own psychological disposition. One can change it for the better but should not exchange it, should not cast yourself in the mould of somebody else.

Source: Universal Message of the Bhagavad Gita by Swami Ranganathananda