What It Means To Be Yourself

How many times do you get the response "I'm just being myself." whenever you ask people why they didn't do some things or why they did something wrong?

My guess is: quite a lot of time. "I am happy to be myself" is one of the most popular responses these days. People are adopting it because it makes them feel good about themselves.

But do we really get what it means to be oneself or are we using the phrase as an excuse to dodge certain things we are meant to do?

Being yourself actually means that you tell yourself the truth at all times. If you did something wrong, you should tell yourself the truth that you messed up and find ways to correct it.

If you feel like you need to improve, you'd accept it and work on yourself to become better. If you aspire to be like someone else or even better, you tell yourself the truth and make plans to become so.


Being yourself doesn't mean you should remain the same. It doesn't mean that you should keep doing things the same way because you're being yourself. It doesn't mean you should ignore your mistakes and not accept the blame for them.

Being yourself should not be an excuse for not doing what is right. Being yourself should be being honest with yourself. It is being true to yourself. That way you know when you've made mistakes and where you need to improve.

No one should be stagnant in the name of being themselves. We mustn't remain the same. No one should stay in a fixed position. That is disguised death. We must keep changing to become better and better people. And the truth is that getting better never ends!

So, if you've been using being yourself as an escape from facing reality, think again. Always tell yourself the truth. Don't lie to yourself and your feelings in the name of feeling good.

If you feel ashamed, don't try to hide the feeling under the carpet and pretend to feel good. Look at it and find out why you're feeling ashamed of yourself, then think of ways you can improve and feel more proud of yourself.

If you're feeling depressed, don't hide it. Find out why you're feeling that way and work on yourself to feel better. Don't try to escape it by lying to yourself, that is dangerous because the feeling will grow.

You'd find out that once you understand these feelings instead of hiding them, you'd get to easily overcome them by the actions you'll decide to take.

This is what being true to yourself really means. Simply being honest about your actions, thoughts and feelings.

You can share your own thoughts on what you think it means to be oneself.

Till next time,

-Nigel