why authenticity?
Because it matters.
Authenticity informs how we think about ourselves, how we relate to and show up to others, and how we perform our jobs.
Authenticity is a theme that permeates everything I do, and for the last 20 years I have been studying authenticity through the disciplines of sociology and psychology. My research and that of others in the field reveals that feelings of inauthenticity can be associated with depression and anxiety and that we all need people with whom we can be ourselves.
Authenticity matters for well-being and for happiness.
“To be nobody-but-yourself-in a
world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you
everybody but yourself-means to fight
the hardest battle which any
human being can fight, and
never stop fighting.”
-e.e. cummings
how to live with authenticity
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Know Yourself
Before you can even be your authentic or true self, you need to know what you want to be true to and who you are. Self-exploration—of the most honest kind—can be hard, but it is necessary in order to live in alignment with your values.
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Be Yourself
With a sense of what matters to you and who you are at your core (an ongoing area for assessment), you have the potential to act in ways that match what you know to be true about yourself. If you see parts of yourself that feel ‘true’ but that don’t align with your values, you can explore those and modify. Be true to a self that you WANT to be.
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Evolve Yourself
Our social environment and a world of ‘shoulds’ is constantly demanding that we curate and present a version of ourselves that is pleasing to others. While this can have wonderful effects socially, it can sometimes get in the way of staying true to who we are. Once we know ourselves and can be ourselves, we have the opportunity to continue to evolve and embrace who we are capable of being in the world.
