‘Be yourself’ is useless advice
Telling someone to ‘just be yourself’ is like handing them a map with no roads.
How many times have we heard the phrase, “just be yourself”? It’s become a kind of generic wisdom, but if we’re honest, it’s pretty useless advice. It’s not as easy as it sounds.
We all have different versions of ourselves. There’s the professional version, the at-home version, the version with friends, and—let’s be real—the home alone version. That last one? That’s usually the most authentic you’ll ever see.
But being yourself in every area of life? That takes something extra. The real challenge is accepting all these versions of ourselves. And it’s not simple. Sure, consciously we tell ourselves, “I accept who I am.” But underneath, in the subconscious, it’s a different story.
Deep down, we all want to be liked. We want to please others. So, to truly accept ourselves, we have to rewire our nervous system. That’s the real work. It’s about reprogramming, every day.
This can start today. Write your own new script, even if it’s just a little each morning. Maybe it’s meditating. Maybe it’s something else entirely. There are hundreds of ways to go about it the important thing is finding your own edge, and seeing what actually works for you.
“Be yourself” isn’t useless because it’s wrong. It’s just incomplete. The real magic happens when you do the work to make it possible.