3 Challenges of Being Authentic in A “Fake World”
When you’re a novice in embracing your true self, you will/must face some roadblocks.
Being authentic is the greatest gift you can ever give to yourself, your surroundings and to the universe. But going and staying on that path comes with a price: like almost everything in life, it comes with a price.
It is liberating and peaceful to be yourself — once you have a certain understanding of who you are. Self awareness being the path towards that discovery. When you really discover your true self and stay faithful to that truth, you experience an enormous amount of inner freedom also called “free soul”. Once you touched that “dimension” you won’t want to do or have it otherwise. You can easily be perceived as weird, but guess what? Who cares? That’s their opinion and as the african proverb goes: “opinion is like a nose, we all have one but that’s not the reason to make a big deal out of it”.
So here bellow 3 challenges authentic people may come across:
#1: You assume (wrongly) that everyone else is being authentic/honest/open with you
As Stephen R. Covey wrote: “We see the world, not as it is, but as we are──or, as we are conditioned to see it”. Authentic people tend to assume that because they are true to themselves and to others, other people around will also do the same. Wrong! Because in reality about 80% (if not more) of people live with some sort of social masks not daring (or not knowing how) to be themselves. This false assumption can lead one to more disappointments than necessary. But each disappointment (hopefully) leads one to be a bit more careful and responsible in the future.
#2: People perceive you as being « awkward »
And yes of course that you are awkward. Thanks God. Otherwise that would mean you play a great role into matching anyone’s else personality/character traits, except your own (been there, done that).
Cambridge dictionary defines Awkward as “difficult to deal with”. And taking it from there, yes, it is indeed difficult to deal with people who are true to themselves and follow their inner selves. It is a mystery that each uniquely understands or thrive to understand. No one else on the planet has your eyes, your fingerprints, the same number of hair on their heads, and sees the world the exact way you do. No one. ( Side note: please stop looking for your soul mate, there is not such thing). So, it is totally understandable and logical to be perceived as awkward. Big shout out to all awkward people (me included) out there. Congrats on daring to stand in your own truth and values.
#3: You may tend to question yourself way too often
Being authentic often comes with the willingness to stand by yourself from time to time. That being said, it also means that you think or come to conclusions that are not always similar to the majority ones. Therefore you may tend to put yourself in perspective and reflect weather the majority is the one who got it or wonder if you really are on the “right” path. Some doubts may cripple in in the beginning. But when you have well rooted values and beliefs, that phase is oftentimes temporary. And the more you go on that journey of discovering your authentic self, the more confidence you will get and the less there will be the phases of self reflection, self doubts.
Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! — Dr. Seuss
Until next time, take good care of you and appreciate the gift of being alive 💜
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