🌿 Be You: Coming Home to Your True Self

In a world that constantly tells us who to be, choosing to be yourself is an act of courage.

Yesterday, I heard something that pulled me right back into that familiar feeling—how the world so often tries to fit us into neat little boxes of who we should be, then quietly (or not so quietly) shames us for not measuring up.

“Charlie is now a CEO,” someone said. What they really meant was:“Look how far others have come. And you? What have you achieved?”

Strange, isn’t it? How subtle comparisons—dressed as concern or casual remarks—can carry such weight. How they creep into our minds and make us question our choices, our pace, our worth.

On the surface, a sentence like that may seem harmless. But when you’ve heard variations of it your whole life, it builds. It chips away. And eventually, it can leave you feeling like you’re never quite enough.

And here’s the thing—we can feel the difference between genuine care and performative support. Calling out that disconnect takes courage. Staying rooted in our truth takes strength. It’s an act of rebellion to live in our own power, unapologetically.

The Myth of “Should”

In a world that rewards hustle and equates success with income and titles, how do we stay true to ourselves?

Authenticity. It’s a word we hear often—especially in mindful leadership or spiritual spaces. But beyond the buzzword, it holds deep meaning. From the Greek authentikos, it means “original” and “genuine.” It speaks to ownership. Honesty. Wholeness.

But how do you be yourself when you’ve been taught—generationally, socially, and personally—that it’s safer not to be?

Be the ideal mother, they said. Be the perfect employee. Be the version of success someone else dreamed for you.

Maybe your story was written by someone else. Maybe not all of it—but enough to make you wonder: Where did I disappear?

A Gentle Pause

So I invite you to take a breath, and ask:

• Where do I feel not enough?

• Where do I perform just to be accepted?

• Whose dream am I chasing?

• Where have I betrayed my own truth?

There are artists behind spreadsheets. There are researchers packing school lunches. There are nature lovers suffocating in concrete cities. There are writers standing behind cashier desks, silent.

You probably know someone like that. You might be someone like that.

What’s Stopping You?

To begin living authentically, ask yourself one gentle but powerful question:

What’s stopping me from being my true self?

The answer, more often than not, is fear.Fear of failing. Fear of being rejected. Fear of being too much—or not enough.

So we put on masks. We silence our longings. We live lives that look good but feel wrong.

Because when we once dared to dream, someone said:

“That’s not practical.”“You’ll never make money with that.”“Don’t be silly.”“Be like your uncle.”

Invite the Fear

It’s time to stop resisting the fear—and invite it in.

Say to it:

“You belong. I see you. But I choose differently now.”

When we stop pushing fear away and meet it with awareness, its grip softens. We regain our power.

It’s not easy. But it’s real. And it’s worth it.

Living From the Inside Out

This is what I believe:

When we stop performing…When we stop judging…When we begin to love every part of ourselves—especially the parts we’ve hidden—The world begins to meet us with more kindness, too.

That, to me, is authentic living. That is coming home to your truth. That is what it means to be you.

Photo by: Kasuma on pexels