I Want To Be Authentic, I Want To Be Myself

Being ourselves is much more difficult than it seems. We are continually conditioned by external factors and people around us that prevent us from being who we are and showing our authentic side.

Since we were children, society has instilled in us standards so that we can live in a community, but they often repress what we are deep down.

It is normal that we need standards, but sometimes we apply them too drastically. This is where we start to not really be ourselves.

But, why is it so hard to be ourselves? The answer is simple: we are afraid.

It may sound ironic, but we are afraid to discover ourselves and really see who we are.

Allow yourself to discover yourself

In reality, we know very little about each other. We feel like we are the “me” that we show to others, as we hide our true essence behind our shell.

It is truly terrifying to find out who we are! We have always lived by being what others expected of us.

Even if you can’t see it, what surrounds you has built you up and changing that build looks incredibly dangerous.

There are many people who live with a misconception of their “selves”, while only genuine people can be happy.

Knowing, discovering and exhibiting our authentic “selves” allows us to be in harmony with ourselves.

For the first time, if you succeed, you will feel a balance within you, everything will seem to flow naturally.

Do you know why you have not yet discovered your authentic “me”?

• You are afraid to admit that you are not perfect.
• You try to cover up your flaws and weaknesses.
• You are vulnerable to anything that is not pleasant to you.
• Mistakes are things you can’t come to terms with.
• You always want to be nice to others.
• Being yourself would mean that a lot of people would look askance at you.

Here are some of the reasons why we all refuse to be ourselves and to reveal to the light of who we really are.

There is the fear that others will love us less, the fear of feeling vulnerable to them, and the fear of making mistakes.

It is normal for you to feel these fears but, do you know how much you are losing by not facing them?

You will never be fully happy and you will never truly love yourself if you conceal your authenticity.

Drop the masks and be authentic!

It is a difficult path, but when you manage to let go of the mask of your social “self”, you will find that it is almost impossible to turn back the clock.

You must learn that you will never please everyone and that pretending to be someone that you are not will only cause you to waste unnecessary energy.

You are going to get tired of the game you are trying to play over and over again.

This is when problems and frustrations will arise… because you cannot please everyone!

This is quite normal and something you have to accept. Some people don’t like you, the same way you can’t stand some people.

Afraid of making mistakes? Mistakes allow us to move forward, improve and learn something new every day.

Stop thinking that mistakes and failures are things we should be ashamed of, because there is nothing further from the truth.

And what about your strengths and weaknesses? You should not be ashamed of them either because they belong to you, they form the person that you are.

You have to learn to develop your strengths and embrace your weaknesses, like things that are there that you cannot do anything about. What then could you do? Nobody is perfect.

Perfection is not found in perfection per se, but in imperfection. We are all different and unique, we have to accept it.

Never try to be someone else, because only by being yourself will your world be in harmony with those around you.

The more you are yourself, the happier you will be and the more you will attract new people to you.

The false belief that you have to fall into line to fit in must leave your mind: it is a lie. Stop believing all these myths and release your authentic “self”.

Images by Corinne Reignie, Brian McCarthy