"Just be yourself "..

@mlgen1037 .. Thanks Louise ... Yes I understand what you mean .. I think everyone of us start out struggling to find our true self because we have been influenced by our culture, our schools, our community and our family members , friends , etc.. We have been controlled from the beginning of our existence... Being true to Self is very important .. I have observed a lot of people who are living a double life.. especially in this modern time where we have social media like Facebook , where many create totally different personalities of themselves far from who they really are .. If they know you and you are true to who you are, they isolate you ...But I can't help thinking, how is it working for them?..

"Uniqueness" is an illusion according to many religious and philosophical teachings as well as in the sub-atomic world of our human body.

@josie_ Oh. So basically we are all the same?

@MALUSE you are probably right about that one as some are boring in interviews when they have no cue cards to go by or writers and have to answer in their own boring words

@MALUSE .. I remember witnessing someone being coached on how to carry self during a job interview .. The young person was being told to " just be yourself " ... and yet he was told to have a hair cut, maybe a new shirt and new pair of pants and polish his shoes and arrive on time .... The young man likes wearing very casual clothes... he was always wearing runners and tracksuits .. He should have been told to stop being himself and be a little more presentable ...

@josie_ Yes .. and those celebrities won't have millions of fans if they are just being themselves .... because who they are in public is different is their private life ..

Yes.. it's all about choices ..

I also think of me the same ...I say it like it is .. I am direct .. that I was told that I am tactless .. Maybe I stirred the pot too much .. and they didn't like it ..

@epiffanie that is true. At my age of 58 I don't think I still have to live a life of pretensions. Yes to the point of being misunderstood as a tactless old lady. If I can't say it, my eyes do the talking.

I do believe in you po, @ridingbet. I wonder how can someone even deny another human being for the sole purpose of getting attention.

This being different to different people is difficult to understand for small children. In our house is a 3-year-old girl who can't grasp this yet. Her younger sister's name is Isabel. When I say, "This is your sister", she corrects me at once and says, "NO! This is Isabel."

@MALUSE Lol! it's the opposite here .. I pointed out to my 2 year old grand daughter a picture of her big brother and told her , " This is Luis " ... and she said , " NO! this is brother " ...

@MALUSE _I envy children. how simple and uncomplicated their world. Unfortunately they become adults.

Thank you Gela .. yes that means that too ..

@epiffanie You are welcome.

Yes.. Some people actually become so convinced that they are who they are not ..

@epiffanie Right. And that irritates me very much. But hey, everyone is different.

Oh okay .. thanks

Yes indeed !! ..

@epiffanie

@Hannihar .. As we navigate our way into this life , we slowly but surely gain wisdom .. And as we gain wisdom, we discover our authentic Self .. and it is very freeing ..

@epiffanie You have a point Bess.

I think we all have become influenced that we have become disconnected from who we really are .. Our authentic self ..It took me years to talk myself out of who I was made to be that became what I thought was the true me ... It wasn't working for me until I told myself to " stop being yourself ".....

@FayeHazel You know, it took losing my siblings and their families to finally found my authentic self .. And it's all worth it.. I know that it is very hard for most people to comprehend the decision I made, but deep inside me, it's the right thing to do..

@epiffanie Do you feel like you are closer to / are your authentic self? I'm still trying to sort out who I am. I know what you are saying by "made to be". Situations that happen, especially when we are young shape us. Those things aren't necessarily "us" though.

I understand what you mean..

Yes.. We have to evolve into something or someone better ..

@epiffanie Sometimes. But sometimes just being true to yourself is still enough.

I wonder if people are aware that they are pretending ?..

@epiffanie I think they are, they're just ignoring that fact and keep pretending.

Thank you bonnie ! ..

Yes indeed .. we can not pretend to be something else other that what we really are ... We don't want to be hypocrites ..

Yes indeed .. especially when we try to please others around us ...

Yes ..If "self " is productive, honest, with integrity, a quite achiever for instance , then he can be just himself .. But if someone is lazy , handout merchant , useless eater , etc.. then they should not be encouraged to " just be yourself "...

oh yes I understand what you mean..

Yeah .. it's for our own good to be truthful to ourselves ..