Be Yourself “Always
Presently, pretty much everyone says the phrase “just be you”. It may be a post in social media, advice to a friend, encouragement to self and many others. But if we think about it more deeply,there is a danger to it and it may be not always advisable. Commonly, we think that it’s very positive and encouraging but in reality, this is not the entire truth. A quote from an article by Leah Finnegan says, “giving some people license to be themselves can encourage performances that are painful to watch.” Always being oneself can also lead to negative outcomes especially if applied in inappropriate circumstances. Being yourself always can lead to jeopardizing one’s work, destroy relationships, mislead oneself and others.
Most people who strongly believe in that phrase will say that being yourself will build courage and inner strength that can help in having courage to do things, try new things and others. It makes you have control in your own life. Another reason why many advises it, because they believe that doing what makes you happy and just being yourself will lead you to self-fulfilment and a way for self-expression. One life coach even suggested that when a person feels unhappy because of following society’s expectations, just be you not what others wanted you to be. These are just few of the many reasons why the phrase seems to be advisable. These are neither wrong notions nor bad advises . So when does being yourself always become dangerous?
While it is true that being one’s self makes someone be able to express who and what they really are and feel;the thought of it can also be motivating at times self-doubt is felt. But the fact remains, it is not always that you should be yourself. Regardless of the positiveness making someone believe it and eventually going to practice it the fact remains that this can’t be applied every time especially on situations like at work or any formal businesses. In this context some reasons are, sharing too much to colleagues, blurred boundaries and inappropriate behavior. Mark Snyder, a social psychologist said “a lot of jobs, particularly at higher levels all for acting and self-presentational skills that favor people who change their deeds to fit the situation’’.Another example of its misuse are insensitive remarks on what one feels regarding a matter,especially during these time that prevalent issues arises. This can lead to destroyed relationships in any sort because of overlooking boundaries it cannot cross and limitations that are essentially set because of this belief which made you neglect the responsibility to respect each one. Jeremiah Stone stated that the danger of simply telling people to ‘be yourself’ is that they might think that’s all they need to do.”
Being yourself is not a bad idea at all, but remember that your are responsible of your action and words consequence. One should always remember that there is a proper time and appropriate place in showing some attitudes and characters when practicing this idea. As long as there are no boundaries crossed, feelings hurt and offended because of being yourself, then there will be no problem.Let’s not take the phrase too lightly. Be yourself but also always be in the right attitude.
