Staying Authentic

Have you ever tried to be something you are not because you think people won’t like the real you? Are you afraid someone might find out that your family has some crazy in it? Do you compare yourself to others and try to mold yourself to fit that vision?

There are some reasons why it is a much better idea to be your authentic self. Being authentic means saying no to things that don’t serve any real purpose. It’s not saying yes to impress. It’s sticking to your values even if someone is trying to convince you otherwise. It’s having the courage to be transparent and honest, and to be who you really are without wearing a mask.

In the article, Authenticity, How to be True to Yourself, on www.mindtools.com, the Mind Tools team discusses how hard it is to not be authentic. “Living and working this way is tiring, dispiriting, and confining. It can also hold us back from reaching our true potential. The opposite of this is to live and work authentically. When we give ourselves permission to be ourselves, we can live free from others’ ideas and expectations, and we can choose our own course in life.”

When you are authentic you will earn the trust and respect of others by standing by your beliefs and values and not doing something only to fit in with the crowd. You can achieve your potential because you will act without being fearful of what others think. Being authentic relieves the stress of trying to be something you are not. You will have better relationships because the people you interact with will know the real you.

Rebecca from www.minimalismmadesimple.com states being authentic makes everything simpler. You will experience personal growth because no growth can happen when you only copy what others do.

Joshua Becker, author, speaker, and editor of Becoming Minimalist, wrote an article called The Compliment I Most Want Said at My Funeral. In the article, he says he hopes people say he was the same person in both public and private. He wants to be authentic, live an exemplary life, and be the best, he can be. This article resonated with me because I know several people who lead very different lives depending on whether they are in public or at home and it can have devastating effects on family members, especially when others believe the public persona, and do not believe family members who reveal the private person.     

You can also help others by being authentic. I had some family junk that I was always worried my colleagues at the Christian school where I worked would find out about and judge me. One day I had the clarity to realize I loved my family even if they did some outrageous things. In the workroom at school, I shared my feelings and the junk and said I was tired of not being authentic. I was surprised that all four women around me started sharing similar stories and seemed relieved to release their own junk.

We all deserve to be our unique person. It is exhausting to try to fit a persona that isn’t you, or to try to follow the latest trend. Celebrate the amazing person you are and realize that people will judge you no matter what, but that is their issue, not yours.