To Be Yourself
Just Let Yourself Be

To be yourself sounds like such a simple thing to do, yet it causes so many of us so much trouble.

Although there is much lip-service paid to ‘being yourself,’ it is actually rarely truly encouraged. Just try doing things the way you really want, rather than the way you think you should. Very likely you will have someone telling you that you are being too lazy, irresponsible, selfish, or unconventional. Being yourself is all very well it seems, if ‘yourself’ is exactly what other people think you should be.

One thing too, is that very few people have a clear idea of who they really are. Under all the labels, and stereotypes, how do you see yourself?

Defining yourself by external factors such as your job, your appearance, or even your personality causes a separation between your true self- the essence of who you are, and who you think you are, or should be.

In fact, it is unnecessary to define ourselves at all. Labels are inadequate, unnecessary, and limiting. Words cannot describe something as infinite as a human spirit, yet this infinite spirit is who you are.

One problem is that we place too much of an emphasis on making ‘be’ an active rather than passive verb.

Rather than just letting ourselves exist, as we are, we try to ‘be’ what we think we should be. I mean really, who else can you actually be other than yourself? Still, we try to force ourselves into roles and stereotypes, and meet the expectations of society, people around us, and ourselves.

To be yourself, you don’t have to ‘be’ anything at all- you already are. You are a spiritual being in a human body, and you are a part of the universe- as eternal and unchanging in your basic essence as the life force that runs through your veins. Rather than having to try to be yourself, you just need to let yourself be.

Another difficulty that we encounter in the quest to be ourselves, is trying to be what we think we should be, or what we have been told we are or should be.

You think that you should be studious, so you spend a lot of energy trying to be studious, rather than letting yourself flow with your natural artistic inclinations.

You were raised to believe that you were born to be a leader, so you force yourself to lead. If you let yourself be rather than forcing yourself to try and be, you would realize that you don’t really want to lead. What you feel drawn to doing, but ignore and suppress, is to create and explore.

By forcing ourselves into being or doing things that are not our true desire, we not only make ourselves unhappy, we deny ourselves the fulfillment of developing and using our gifts. We also deny those around us the benefit they could get from what we could create and share if we truly let ourselves be ourselves.

Something else that can prevent you from really being who you are is the belief that we can only be certain things at certain times. By labeling ourselves, and the qualities we express, we often believe that we can only be one thing or another. You might feel that you cannot be a devoted parent and a passionate lover, or that you cannot be successful and playful.

We feel that we need to define ourselves, and by doing so, we limit ourselves from expressing the various aspects of our selves that we feel contradict the image we have created of ourselves.

This can either result in a feeling of frustration, at not being able to express all the different parts of our selves, or a feeling of guilt if we do express the sides of ourselves that we feel are inappropriate.

To be yourself, let go of any images that you have created of yourself. Stop trying to be anything, and just let yourself be. You don’t have to fit into any category, or label yourself in any way. Don’t let anyone else push you into any role either. Roles are limiting and unnecessary.

You are a human being, and that alone is all the definition you need. Within the scope of reasonable behavior that does no harm to yourself or others, you can do anything, at any time, in any combination, and there are no rules that you need to follow.

Just listen to your heart. Your heart knows who you are and will gently guide you and show you how to be yourself.

There is no need for pressure, restrictions, or to choose a rigid path. There is no one single way to be yourself. If you just let yourself be, this can change and flow from moment to moment, as you truly live your life.

A free-flowing way of being that encompasses all ways and all possibilities is the only real way to be yourself, and to be happy.

Back to Have It All

Back to Choosing Life My Way from To Be Yourself