Five Reasons Why You Should Be Yourself

When I was growing up, the environment I lived around made it almost impossible to be myself. This post made me realized that it's okay to be YOU!

In a society where people are told that they can be anything they want to be, we simply just can't. We can be engineers, writers, journalists, or even an astronaut. However, there is no choice but to be yourself. This is the only wise choice. Many people have tried not being themselves and ultimately fail. Growing up, I have seen few people making their way through life by pretending to be something that they're not. It was concerning to me.

Many people have tried to change my values, beliefs, and personal image. In middle and high school, being myself was quite the challenge. I'm a positive person who goes with the vibe. If I find that your vibe is bad, then I don't associate with it. That's just me. People in my life just couldn't accept that. This was most prevalent in high school as there were cliques. If you didn't behave in a certain way, like certain music, or even agree on some things, you couldn't be associated with them. I was my own independent person and didn't care what no one thought of me.

The question that I pose is: "Why is it difficult to be yourself?" From childhood, some of us may have been taught that we are not enough as we are. Some people would not accept us the way we are. We're expected to think, look, and even behave in different ways. It's like a desire to achieve relationships and connections because of rationality.

Why should you be yourself? Here's how:

1. Live life with your values and beliefs

Knowing how you are and where your values and beliefs lie is the first step in being yourself. If you don't follow your beliefs and values, you will end up taking on the values and beliefs of others. When you know your values and why you go through with them, you will live according to your own values and beliefs.

2. Establish your own Identity

Finding your identity is a tough road to come across. As we grow, we start to develop our own ideas, beliefs, and ideologies on how we want to be in life. It starts with a solid, firm foundation of being you. There will be times where you might get lost or distracted, but having your identity will help you get back on the right track.

3. Build courage.

This was my biggest struggle in growing up. Courage is a key component in being yourself. It takes a lot of courage to take a path that goes against the crowd. Many people take a broad path because it's easy. It's a challenge to stay true to yourself and create your own identity. The challenge of being yourself comes with courage and inner strength. If you have courage, you'll know how to handle any challenge that comes your way.

4. Establish strong boundaries

Always know your limits! When you are being yourself, you understand the boundaries that you have established for yourself. And when those boundaries are crossed, trust me, you will know. However, if boundaries aren't established, people will walk over and take advantage of you. Setting boundaries helps with the self-awareness to spot issues ahead of time before things spiral out of hand.

5. Find your focus and direction

Finding your focus and direction is easier said than done. Someone who is always adhering to someone else's expectations doesn't have a focus or direction. Knowing your goals and direction helps with achieving them later in life.

Being yourself is accepting you for who you are. You don't have to put up on a front or act like a bigshot to impress anyone. People will love you for who you are, inside and out. These five reasons are just a starting point on being yourself, but you can take other measures to be yourself and live a life, stress free.