A writer says, “I really don’t feel like writing today.”
A swimmer says, “I really don’t want to practice today.”
A corporate professional says, “I really don’t want to go to that meeting today.”
A child says, “I don’t feel like doing homework today.”
A leader says, “I don’t want to explain stuff today. ”
Are all these people being their authentic selves?
Well, let’s start with what does being your authentic self mean?
Your authentic self is who you truly are as a person, regardless of your occupation, regardless of the influence of others, it is an honest representation of you. To be authentic means not caring what others think about you. … To be authentic is to be true to yourself through your thoughts, words and actions.
So, we can say that all these people are being their authentic selves because they are expressing what they feel without the fear of being judged.
But here is what is not obvious to most of us, what we call our authentic selves is actually our comfortable selves. The purpose of being our authentic selves was never to make us comfortable but many of us have used being our authentic self as a crutch to be comfortable.
Every-time you say I am being authentic and resorting to comfort, it is a signal, you have misused authenticity.
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