The Meaning of Being Yourself – 12 Ways To Be Yourself
The advice people often give others who feel nervous in social settings is “Just be yourself.” Unfortunately, sometimes that can be easier said than done.
Some people don’t feel they know who they are. Sometimes we also don’t feel comfortable being ourselves in front of others.
If you feel like either of those two cases describes you, rest assured it is possible be who you want to be around others.
The meaning of being yourself
A simple way of understanding the idea of being who you are is to think about what you like and dislike doing when you’re alone.
- Do you like laughing loud at sitcoms?
- Do you enjoy intellectual debates that provoke you to deep thought and questions?
- Are you not a fan of going out to clubs?
- Are you not interested in enjoying a beer with people?
The things you do or don’t do when no one is looking is the basics of who you are. The key to showing that person off to others is to be okay with the fact that some people aren’t going to like it or understand it.
Essentially we hide our personalities because we’re fearful of others mocking us for it. We don’t want to be judged harshly. But the thing is, that doesn’t have to stop you from feeling good about who you are.
That’s essentially what the people around you that you feel a need to impress are doing. So if they can do it, why can’t you do it too?
So what if you don’t live up to society’s expectations and do what everyone else is doing. It’s better than living a life that isn’t true to who you are and makes you unhappy.
Be inspired and motivated to be true to the person you know yourself to be. Here are 12 powerful ways you can be yourself and have a happier, more optimistic life.
How to be yourself
1. Stop worrying about how others see you
In some cases, pondering how others see you can be good for helping you make positive changes about yourself.
However, if you’re constantly thinking about how others are perceiving who you are, you may end up feeling insecure.
If you feel you need to make changes about yourself, make those changes. If you don’t, then don’t worry with what others think.
2. See yourself as enough
You may feel like you have to be more “normal”, “confident”, “funny”, or any other adjective you wish you were more of.
While we’re always try to improve, remember that the person that you uniquely are is valuable. See yourself as enough to have friends like you, people hire you, and enjoy pleasant interactions overall.
3. Don’t worry about pleasing others
Do you find yourself always doing what others want you to do and rarely doing the things you want to do? If so, that’s a problem you need to fix.
There’s nothing wrong with being considerate about other people’s wants and needs. That’s a part of being a nice person.
Nonetheless, you also need to have your own personal boundaries. Make sure you’re doing just as much for yourself as you try to do for others.
4. Get to know yourself
We’ve probably all had moments where we wonder to ourselves, “Who am I?” We ponder if we really know who we are.
From birth to adulthood, we get filled with ideas of how we’re supposed to see ourselves and how we’re supposed to be.
Practice not thinking about how to act and just be spontaneous in how you choose to be. You’ll learn more about the way you like to be who you are.
5. Confidently own who you are
If you doubt yourself from time to time, join the club. No matter how confident anyone around you appears, all of us feel a little doubt about ourselves sometimes.
One of the tricks to doubting less is to stop comparing yourself to others. Own who you are in all the uniqueness of your personality and characters. Projecting confidence about what you do and how you act can make others around you see you as confident too.
6. Appreciate yourself in all your uniqueness
Appreciate all of your weirdness in every way. All people have their odd quirks about them. The confident ones are the ones who can be comfortable with them no matter what people think.
Choose to feel good through all the weird things you may say or do sometimes. You may even make others feel good in their weirdness, and people usually like when others make them feel more comfortable.
7. Don’t be negative towards yourself
Not all of us naturally feel glass half full. Some of us may struggle with often being more glass half empty. But being negative about the person you are won’t make you feel better about yourself. Being happy with yourself requires you to have some positivity.
Related: 30 Ways to Be More Positive in 2021
8. Be forgiving towards yourself
If you were unnecessarily negative and hard on yourself in the past, forgive yourself. If you were a rude towards family, friends, and colleagues, forgive yourself.
We’ve all made mistakes, took wrong steps, and made some bad decisions. Choose to let go of the the past and focus on solutions that can change your reality. Be encouraging to yourself so you can feel up to becoming the best person you can be.
9. Look at mistakes as learning opportunities
When you make a mistake, you’re getting closer to learning the right way to do something. You don’t have to feel down on yourself for failing sometimes. Just learn to ponder over how things went wrong so you can know better what to do in the future.
Related: Mistakes Are Proof That You Are Trying, Failure Is One Of The Greatest Teachers In Life
10. Strive to accomplish what you desire
Don’t allow your life to remain the same as it’s always been. Be bold in going after what you want to achieve in life. Keep on improving yourself and getting closer to being true to who you are.
11. Do hobbies and activities you love
Perhaps one of the most authentic versions of yourself comes out when you’re doing what you love. We all have things that we feel like we really live for.
Discover your passions and spend more of your time on those things. When you do the things you enjoy life, you can feel much happier.
12. Be intentional
People who do well at being themselves are intentional about their thoughts, feelings, and actions in life. Be intentional about choosing to be a laid back person if that’s who you are.
Be intentional about being a silly and energetic person if that’s you. Don’t hesitate in acting and being what feels right to you. Be present.
Related: What Does It Mean To Be Present In Life?
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