I'm an Authentic Person, I Don’t Like False Appearances
I am an authentic person, coherent with my principles, and I do not try to seem greater than anyone, nor put on a show of something that does not define me just to appease others. I am everything that you see, and I only understand one language: the language of sincerity.
Authenticity of mind, spirit, and will is not practiced very often, and the reason for that is simple. People sometimes need to appear certain ways in order to find approval or integration in their daily social relationships.
An authentic person has gone down a long path along which they have gradually rid themselves of many things that were wearing away at their happiness: fear of being alone, insecurity, prejudices, need to please others…
Life is really a long path on which we must continuously remind ourselves of who we really are. And such basic pillars as loving oneself, integrity, and respect for oneself and for others are those qualities that should define all of us.
However, it is clearly not always easy to keep that sincere attitude. Sometimes, going down our life path and showing who we really are can bring us more than one conflict with others, friction with which we crash into one contrary feeling or another.
Authenticity, above all else, involves respect. It’s “I am me, but I respect who you are.” We live in a world where all of us have a place, and where one of the things that can hurt us the most is a false appearance.
An authentic person seeks the essence of things
Seeking the essence of things means valuing authenticity in life above all else. And we do this by living from the heart and knowing how to observe things that are truly important.
An authentic person seeks the essence of daily life, being true to themselves and at the same time building their destiny: because they are free beings who have broken the chains of their past, and of all that which was false or negative.
We also know that in recent years, the term “authentic people” has become very popular. So much so that more than one of us will look at these words with skepticism, as if all of us were not naturally “real and authentic.”
Because of this, and to help a bit more in defining it, it is worth taking the time to consider these small touches.
- In an article from early 2015 in the magazine “Psychology Today,” it was explained that authentic or genuine people are, above all else, personalities who do not make use of falseness and at the same time are uncomfortable with it.
- Furthermore, it is interesting to consider that they are people who live each day from the inside: they attend to, analyze, reflect on, value their thoughts and attitudes, and they do the same for each thing that comes to them from their surroundings.
- They are independent people and they only respond to inner expectations. They will never seek the approval of others to do something, and they would never let their happiness be “trapped in the pocket of other people.”
- An authentic or genuine person learns from their failures or mistakes, they take responsibility for and accept them to orient their path again. They understand the value of effort and personal triumph.
- Their self-esteem is strong and sure. However, it has not been easy to get where they are; oftentimes, it involves a long path of mix ups and lessons to finally discover the value of essences, of the truth, of freedom, of modesty, self-love, and happiness.
False appearances: a personality behind a mask
Just as we have pointed out at the start, all of us, at some time, have had to appear in certain ways that we were not. A teenager does it to feel integrated into their social group, and adults sometimes feel obligated to do it to avoid displeasing someone, to maintain a feigned harmony at a given moment. If there is something that authentic people cannot stand, it’s fake people complaining about their own falseness.
It’s remarkable how complex it is to be a human being. Some mold their personality to be what others expect, others disdain their friends or family members, but fake sincere affection…Why do we do it?
Sometimes, false appearances and those masks we are obliged to wear from time to time are simply part of “socializing.” However, by carrying on with these practices for an extended time period, we run the risk of no longer recognizing ourselves.
An authentic person may have gone through that phase, but in the end, they decide that they are not going to do it anymore, that it does not match their essence, their principles.
We must remember that part of our life’s lesson is to keep forming our image with integrity and to consolidate it towards ourselves and our exterior: this is me.
Put what others think and expect of you into perspective: it is just air, noise, an empty bowl. What matters is your authentic essence and your integrity. Be authentic, be free.
Images courtesy of Tuğba Sayın and Pascal Campion
