Finding Yourself

"Be yourself; everyone else is taken."

"Don't compromise yourself - you're all you have."

"To shine your brightest light is to be who you truly are."

Whenever you feel lonely, uncertain or unappreciated, you're sure to meet someone who will tell you that the answer to your problems is to "be yourself". But instead of helping, this advice only leads to further questions - how could you have failed to be yourself, and why does everyone else seem so confident about it?

To be yourself is to have the virtue of authenticity. It means to act in alignment with your values, and to show your true personality. But there are many situations where we are socially required to do the opposite; we must behave at work and toe the line, and we must be careful about offending certain friends or family members. We've all had experiences where we've tried to be ourselves, with disastrous effects, and been left wondering what we must have done wrong.

Does society really place a high value on being yourself, or do we pay lip service to authenticity while we value more obvious qualities like humor, charm and beauty? How can you continue to be yourself, while you work on improving yourself? How can we find ourselves, and be ourselves to achieve joy and fulfillment?

Excerpt

Whenever you feel lonely, uncertain or unappreciated, you're sure to meet someone who will tell you that the answer to your problems is to "be yourself". But instead of helping, this advice only leads to further questions - how could you have failed to be yourself, and why does everyone else seem so confident about it? Does society really place a high value on being yourself, or do we pay lip service to authenticity while we value more obvious qualities like humor, charm and beauty? How can you continue to be yourself, while you work on improving yourself? How can we find ourselves, and be ourselves to achieve joy and fulfillment?

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