Being Authentic In The Modern World | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

Being Authentic In The Modern World

Know who you are and be brave enough to like it.

344
Being Authentic In The Modern World
Jim Jaction

Webster defines the word authentic as: real or genuine, not copied or false.

Contrary to what you may think, authenticity is not a characteristic you are born with. Just because you are naturally an outgoing person, that does not mean you are authentic, and just because you are more introverted does not mean you are not authentic.

We as a culture still have not gripped the concept of being authentic. Now, you might be asking yourself, “What do you mean? We are in the most progressive era the world has ever seen!”

Well, you may be right. We may be a highly progressive generation but my understating is that, individually, we find ourselves concerned with saying what we think people want to hear instead of saying what we actually believe. As a result we have become this constant growing mass of people-pleasing zombies.

Unfortunately, nowadays we base our values on what “everyone else” believes instead of what we think and who we are. We are bombarded with a plethora of opinions online and never really take the time to discern what we truly believe. But then if what we believe is against the status quo, we are ostracized and rebuked.

Being authentic or transparent is harder than you think because you are actually going against what you have trained your brain to believe about yourself and others. Things that drive us away from “being real” are worrying about what people think, striving for perfection and control-freakism, comparing, low self-worth, and doing things out of obligation. And as much as you try to convince yourself that you don’t do these things, deep down that you fall victim to at least one of these factors. It happens to all of us!

How many times have you stopped yourself from doing something you want because you are worried about what people around you will think? For example, I have put off going to the gym hundreds of times because I was worried about what the people there would think of me. I didn’t have enough confidence to not care about the possibility of being judged for my round-butt, setting foot onto the gym floor.

Stop comparing yourself with other people.

Let me repeat it again for those in the back…

Stop comparing yourself with other people.

How in the world does it make sense to try and be someone else? That is no way to become your true self. It takes a lot of time and reflection to determine who your true self is, and then it takes just as much more time and work to become that true self. You’ll never get there if you are comparing and trying to be someone else.

Also when we are too focused on looking outwards for confirmation, we find ourselves giving up the feeling of love and joy. Because once you realize that your worth does not come from others, but from inside you, you can accept the love of others freely.

Gaining authenticity is not something you work for and then you have it and you never have to work for it anymore. It’s something you need to cultivate and maintain, and it’s a series of conscious choices we make. We wake up in the morning and we tell ourselves, “OK today, I am going to be real.” Despite what people think, despite our self-doubt, and despite our fears. Listen to your heart. It will help you get to know who you are and what you want.

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”

- Brené Brown from 'The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who you Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are' (book)

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

597
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

505
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1195
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

2451
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less
student thinking about finals in library
StableDiffusion

As this semester wraps up, students can’t help but be stressed about finals. After all, our GPAs depends on these grades! What student isn’t worrying about their finals right now? It’s “goodbye social life, hello library” time from now until the end of finals week.

1. Finals are weeks away, I’m sure I’ll be ready for them when they come.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments