‘Be yourself; everyone else is already taken’. ÔÇö Oscar Wilde
There seems to be some confusion with some people over the notion of being yourself.
While the concept seems to be a simple one, there are those who seem only able to make deprecating comments regarding the subject.
Being yourself is accepting yourself for whomever and whatever you are and living in a life affirming manner.
It is recognition that all people are different and no one is any better than any other, regardless of what others may tell you. Being whom and what you are is the most natural thing there is.
To suppress it, whether through fear, yielding to social pressure or lack of confidence, always leads to trouble, one of the main reasons why millions of people today lead lives of frustration and desperation. These people simply deny who they are in the hope that some powers would reward them.
Some people, even some friends and family, will disapprove of you as you truly are and will let you know it. There will also be setbacks along the way.
Yet the price for being yourself can never be as great as the price you will pay for stepping aside from your basic nature: a price paid in frustration, dissatisfaction, and the hopeless realization of all that you might have been, but now can never attain.
There will never be anyone else like you in the future. There has never been anyone exactly like you since human life began. That’s why being you is more important than anything else; certainly more than the fear that traps people into conforming.
As human beings we also need to accept people for who they are and never try to change someone to your way of thinking.
Everyone needs to be responsible for their own actions, because of all the qualities of having good mental health this may be the most important as it takes a certain maturity to know and be able to express your feelings and then take the responsibility for your feelings and also your actions. One might also become more mature and also a stronger person by simply doing this.
In addition, as we try to be ourselves, one thing we should all bear in mind is that in pursuing to be ourselves we ought to be free persons: listen to your own feelings and also desires.
“Don’t rely on others to determine how you live your life, it just isn’t necessary. Sometimes you will have a friend that wants a certain image, say, in the way she dresses, and she expects you to dress the same: don’t as it is not necessary. If you lose that friend you will meet another. Think of yourself. Carry in your mind a positive picture of the person that you are: this isn’t being conceited, it is being real”.
They may also call you names, let them do because deep down you know who you really are and you shouldn’t change yourself to suit other people’s desires about you. Express your feelings honestly and in a healthy way and not in a violent way; this won’t make you a fake. Also try to function as fully as possible, just try to live your life to the fullest every day, it is possible.
We all need to spend time by ourselves, not to the limit that we don’t include others in our lives but we each need a little private time and don’t feel guilty about taking this time for ourselves.
