Who Are You, Anyway?
Posted on August 26, 2014 by Sienna Tarniella, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Excerpt from my new co-creation, "Transform Your Life!" - to be published November 2014.
Who Are You, Anyway?
“Be yourself.” It’s almost a cliché. How many of us have found ourselves in a new situation – a new relationship, a new job – and some well-intentioned person in your life says to you, “Just be yourself.” And how many of us have thought, “What does that even mean?”
Children are naturally honest and authentic, telling everyone they know (and everyone they don’t), in no uncertain terms, what they think and feel. As adults, we learn to subjugate our authentic selves in an effort to conform and belong – to our families, friends and other groups. We learn to be “politically correct.” We learn to be polite. We learn to put on a mask. Some of this socialization is necessary to be functioning, likable members of society…but here’s the thing: when you wear a mask long enough, it can be hard to take off. One day, you run your fingers around your face and can no longer feel the edges.
Learning how to be yourself is about learning how to shed the mask. The act of being yourself, being real, being authentically YOU requires more than just a popular saying and a “go get ‘em” pat on the back. Authenticity has two prerequisites: self-knowledge and self-acceptance. In other words, you have to first know who you are and be comfortable with who you are before you will spontaneously “be” who you are! Another vital and often-dismissed element of being yourself is understanding and consciously exercising the inherent power to create yourself. So who are you, anyway? Let’s find out.
