The great Oscar Wilde once said ‘be yourself: everyone else is taken.’ In today’s modern world, being yourself isn’t as easy as it sounds. The internet and social media have given us a pretty skewed sense of what that means. We spend our lives fraught the anxiety over peer pressure, FOMO, and constantly comparing ourselves to others. If you are being your authentic self, is it even real if you don’t post about it on social media?
For all the great things about modern life, it also has it’s pitfalls, which most of us fall foul of to some degree.
So, try and aim to become unapologetically you and you’ll thank yourself or it.
Worrying less about things you can’t control expends a lot of mental energy. Being anxious about your weight, your clothes, what people think of you is exhausting. It’s also proven to increase your chances of developing anxiety and depression.
By worrying less about what people think of you, or is expected of you, you improve your mental health markedly. So go ahead and take risks. Wear that party dress with combat military fashion boots, or dye your hair the colour you want, go for that promotion.
Less worry = less stress
More time to do the things you want
The less time you’re spending worrying about things, the more time you’ll have to devote to other things. Spend time on self care, learning a new skill or spending time with friends and family.
Truly confident people find that it has a lot of benefits for their lives. You are more likely to perform at your best in most situations. Confident people find it easier to influence others in their personal and professional lives. They are als more likely to pursue their dreams and interests.
Confidence is also often at the top of the list of attractive qualities that people look for in a partner.
Finding confidence can be life changing
How do you learn to be yourself?
Learning to be yourself isn’t easy as it might sound, especially if we’ve spent our entire lives trying to be a different version of yourself. You might never feel truly free of expectations and pressure, but you can make huge strides towards it that change your life for the better.
Learn not to take yourself, or situations too seriously. Live in the moment, rather than worrying about things that have happened in the past, or the future.
Be more accepting of others. If you’re the kind of person who judges or criticises people, you are likely to assume that this is how others think of you too. It’s a vicious circle that never ends. So be honest and open and try not to judge others too harshly. It can be difficult to do, but the more conscious your become of it, the more you can work at changing your behaviour.
Once you’ve let go of self doubt, then you can begin to find out exactly who you are and start living your life without the stresses of expectation and worry. It’s a totally different way of living.
