Wise Advice About Being Your Authentic Self

Wise Advice About Being Your Authentic Self

Photo: Michelle Obama. Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

By Kristina Wright | Inspiring Quotes

“Be yourself” is a familiar, and ancient, refrain. The idea of living an authentic life has been a topic for philosophers and psychologists for millennia. Lao Tzu, the sixth-century BCE Chinese philosopher behind Taoism, tells us in the Tao Te Ching, “Knowing others is wisdom; knowing oneself is enlightenment.” More recently, research has reinforced the long-held idea that people who follow their own path in life have deeper, more meaningful relationships and are more resilient to external pressures or rejection.

Authenticity may very well be the key to living a happy and fulfilling life, but how do we achieve it? Living our truth starts with self-awareness — knowing who we are and what we want. It’s an understanding that can evolve throughout our lives, prompting us to regularly reconsider our passions, priorities, and values, even when that means resisting the comfort of conformity.

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Across the ages, writers, artists, scientists, and leaders have offered their wisdom about what it means to live authentically, leaving little doubt that being true to yourself is worth the introspection and effort it takes to get there. In her seminal poem “The Summer Day,” Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver asks, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?” As the following quotes attest, there may be no better answer than simply, “Be myself.”

Kristina is a coffee-fueled writer living happily ever after with her family in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia.

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