It’s that simple, it’s time for you to be yourself. This is something many of us have been told but at the time same time, we are conditioned to be otherwise. Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to be yourself? Do you find yourself slipping in and out of characters in order to be accepted, liked or loved? How does this make you feel at the end of the day? Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Are you happy? Happiness occurs when you can truly be yourself. When you can live your true potential without comprising and with integrity.
Many moons ago, someone told me I was too nice. It’s something I have never forgotten. They said, “you know what the problem with you is, you’re too nice”. You just never know what will impact you and how it will change the way you interact with people. Those words sunk deep within my being. In elementary school, I would always get student of the month. I was a quiet and shy kid, but a nice kid. This way of being was just in my nature, a born trait. It never occurred to me it was a flaw. It became a weakness many people have taken advantage of. It became a quality I hated myself for. I have always seen the best in people.
I like to give people chances. I believe in love and I believe in forgiveness. I believe in giving more than you take. If I am honest life experiences have changed me and that open loving person is a lot wiser and guarded. Those words, that were once said, lingered in my mind. I found myself approaching life differently, people differently. The more I did this, I found myself slipping in and out of characters to appease others. I started to realize the show that life is. At any given moment you are judged and you just never know what people won’t like about you. It’s quite difficult to navigate.
Perhaps I should put it into context by what they meant by you’re too nice. Simply, you’re too easy going and open-hearted; this isn’t attractive. People are not that nice and I needed to toughen up. As result, I started to recoil a bit. Say a little less. Become the quiet person in the room. I would only open up to those I felt comfortable with. We all fear to come off as too much. We want people to notice us but just not enough to really see us. It’s that fear of judgment that makes it hard to be yourself. The desire to at very least somewhat fit in makes it hard to be yourself. In addition, it’s also the fear of offending someone simply by your presence.
Clearly, life’s many experiences have taught me that people will take advantage of you if you let them. Further, a kind person can be a wise person. You have to set boundaries and you have to accept that not everyone is going to like you no matter what you do. Rather than feeling like less of myself, in fear of outside opinions, I decided some time ago that it was time for me to feel comfortable in my own skin. It’s freeing! I don’t care what people think anymore. This site and all the opinions I share with you, wouldn’t exist if I did.
I am a dynamic person and this is something I embrace, you need to do the same. You don’t have to be just one thing or anything for anyone. Be the best person you can be. We all have a lot of goals, we write them down and work diligently towards them. It’s a shame that we overlook the most important goal which is to find joy in who you truly are. One of your goals in life should be to be nothing like anyone else because no one is like you. You’re magic. When you begin to see the magic within you, this is when you will see weaknesses as strengths. Your flaws will become uniquely yours. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect all of the time.
I don’t want to walk around in fear anymore. I know there are people who may say or do crappy things to me but that’s on them. This doesn’t negate self-awareness either. It’s important to work on self-improvement but this is something you must do for yourself. There is no happiness in being what someone else desires you to be if it’s not in alignment with who you are or who you’re meant to be. Surround yourself with people who allow you to grow. Individuals strive to be their authentic selves.
There’s no time, like this present moment to step into being the real you. One of my favourite quotes is “well-behaved women seldom make history”, so stop going with the crowd and stand out. You are your best example of what you desire other people to be. When you look back on your life you will thank yourself. Most people regret the things they didn’t do or try to do but they also regret not embracing who they are to please others. They regret not going after their dreams in fear of judgment. Living a life that they settled for because of fear. Imagine a life where you can live the realities of your dreams, love with your whole heart while being fearlessly unapologetically yourself?
