I think that one of the most common mistakes that we make is to try to present ourselves as something we’re not. We make implicit or explicit claims about ourselves that are inaccurate or incomplete. We do it because we think that molding our image in a certain way will produce positive results, helping us gain happiness and success. Unfortunately, it’s just the opposite. Inauthenticity is a sure path to misery.
We might find ourselves tweaking our outward personality at work in order to climb the corporate ladder or make an important sale. We might suppress parts of who we are to our romantic partners out of the fear that they won’t really like us if they saw the whole picture. We might mold ourselves to fit a particular social group in which we’re trying to gain or maintain entry. There are so many different situations that tempt us to withhold this part of ourselves here or exaggerate another part of ourselves there. All to fit into a box that we’ve convinced ourselves we just must squeeze ourselves into in order to gain something good in return.
The problem is this never gives us what we truly want in the end. Any time we begin to notice that we’re not being our authentic selves, its sign that we’re heading in the wrong direction. And our problems will only mount if we don’t fix it. You were born to be YOU. Cheers!