Michael

When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you. – Lao-Tzu

How many times a day are you simply being yourself? How often are you hiding behind words and actions that don’t let others see your true self? How often do you feel comfortable saying what you are thinking or doing what you want to do when you want to do it?

If the answer to any of these questions is “only a little” or “very few” or anything less than most of the time, then you are not living your full potential. You are not enjoying the life that you deserve and have a right to live.

But, it’s tough being yourself sometimes. Criticism seems to come from everywhere; society in general, friends, family, significant others, institutions and etc. Being who you are is not celebrated near as much as it should. I know this from personal experience. I used to try and conform as much as possible to whatever group I was involved in. I left my true self at home tucked away in my room. Not a fun life. Criticism and judgment were common for me at the time.

Something happened later in my life. I slowly started being more of who I truly was at any moment in time. I spoke more of what I was thinking. I did things without concern of judgment or criticism. It is so much more relaxing than I would have imagined. I tend to worry less.

I can’t really say what changed because it was so gradual. I do know that I tried small things; i.e. I let some of my true self come out a little bit at a time. It was like a life experiment. Each time gave me confidence to go a little further.

I do believe I’ll continue working on this the rest of my life. But, each day, month, year, it gets a little easier. So, the road gets better. You can’t beat that.

Michael