“Just be yourself.” We have all heard this phrase countless times, it is a seemingly simple idea yet somehow it feels difficult to put into practice and maintain. When we focus primarily on other people, their opinions, and how they do things, we lose sight of who we are. Instead of focusing on others, we need to focus on being ourselves. 

When we shift our focus form other people to ourselves we begin to see that “being yourself” is a full time job. There is no magical switch that we can hit, no proclamation we can make that will render us wholly ourselves – it requires our unwavering focus and attention.

Introspection and reflection are paramount, we must learn about our desires and aspirations from within. No one else can teach us how to be ourselves. We must be bold and unapologetically unique, embodying what we feel is right individually. The result of this effort is pure and beautiful, others will be inspired simply by witnessing how true one is to their self.

For some reason we as a society feel that we must conform and homogenize ourselves to what is deemed as “normal.” This is the opposite of nature. The strength of an ecosystem lies in its diversity: the more diversity there is, the better the ecosystem can adapt to change.

Both our sanity and survivability depend on everyone being uniquely themselves. Don’t just be yourself, make it your focus. Accept others as they are and refrain from judgement – they are not your focus, they should not be your concern.

There is no shortcut to being yourself, it is a commitment that requires daily practice. Others will test your resolve, there will be resistance to your decisions, however there is an intangible reward for seeing this through. This is not a “get rich quick scheme,” this is a commitment for life. By investing our time, energy, and focus into this task we will show others that it is more than acceptable to be unique, that it is in fact a glorious achievement. If you take this endeavor seriously you will help others do the same, what greater reward could you seek than to show others that it is ok to be themselves?

Leave your fears behind, disregard the preferences of other people, and boldly become all that you dream for yourself. We need you to be yourself, make it your focus.