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The Power of Being Yourself
Each individual brings a unique light into the world, however, often that light remains buried below the surface of the person others see in us. Discovering that light and letting it shine is one of the fundamental steps each individual must take to become a more whole person.
Human beings often give up the power of being true to themselves, hiding amongst the shadows of social roles and familiar comforts instead. There are a number of reasons we pretend to be something we are not. It’s easier – sure, it makes us less responsible – right, it allows others the comfort of knowing we are no better than them – nothing special to see here – just an ordinary guy or girl. But let me tell you my side of the story so that you can decide for yourself whether it is really worthwhile to step up, be a unique individual, and to fight for what makes you who you are.
The Cost of Being Yourself
Being yourself means being able to be a free individual. There is something within us that stops that from happening, The Critic. There are a number of accusations that come from The Critic that are just waiting to trigger you into action. The moment someone questions your religion, The Critic wakes up. The moment there is someone at a party that starts hitting on your significant other, The Critic jumps into action. The moment that a person mocks you, laughs at you, or insults your pride, The Critic is there.
Hang on, who is The Critic, you might be asking. The Critic is the part of yourself that you have unconsciously hired as a guard to build a fortress around your personality. However the cost of deconstructing that fort is expensive, so it remains, guarding you with the old values, beliefs, and expectations that you assigned to The Critic a long time ago. Each time someone questions your individual self, The Critic is there to let that person know that you are not afraid of defending yourself.
Each one of us holds onto a particular set of standards that makes up the person we know to be “me”. The moment something causes us take a footstep outside of those standards, The Critic jumps in. Suddenly, we have to defend ourselves and save ourselves from losing our identity – the sense of being “me” that must be defended at all costs. So much trouble to defend something that does not even need defending – isn’t it?
The Cost of Being Free
Does the sense of “I” need to be defended? Let me share what I think. The true self within us does not need to be defended. It just needs to be expressed. However when we fail to express our true self, whether we feel threatened or rejected by others, we build a false self –a Critic – that sits in the back of our mind whispering “Stop! Do not be yourself, remember what happened last time. Instead be like they expect you to be”.
Our world so often places over us a blanket of overcast skies filled with the chronic expectations that all the people in our lives hold over us. So often we compromise our true self to take on one role or another, forever shape-shifting in an endless disguise that fools all but ourselves.
The cost of being free is hefty. It requires you to respond to The Critic and to take off the disguise. In the face of adversity it requires you to be your true self no matter what others have to say about it. Once you stop shaping yourself to meet the needs of others, once you stop projecting a certain role that supposedly looks good to others, and once you stop being someone else, you will find an unusual gift waiting for you.
The Prize of Being Free
Happiness. It took me a long time to find out the real essence behind happiness and freedom – for so long these were just concepts in my mind, concepts that I thought could be actualized with 6-figure salaries, the end of world poverty, and the cessation of global aggression, discontentment, and fear. Finally I came to realize that happiness is a gift that is waiting for us as soon as we embrace our true self. It is up to us to stop pushing our true self under, to stop criticizing and undervaluing it.
There are two types of human beings in the world – people, and individuals. Once you are able to be an individual and not just an ordinary person, you will find your inner intuitive powers begin to grow as you discover happiness, freedom, and self-actualization shining brighter within yourself. It takes courage to take off the disguise protecting you and to let your true colours shine, but this is one of the most honourable and rewarding actions a person can decide to take in life.