Some people hear ‘be yourself’ and think that gives them a free pass to be a bully or a jerk. That’s not what being yourself is all about. It’s about staying true to yourself and doing what makes you feel good, happy, and fulfilled. When you stay true to your morals, do what’s right, and be the person you want to be, you don’t want to bully other people or be a jerk. You are too full of gratitude and happiness to do that. Only miserable people are mean to other people. And, I find that it’s mostly people who are not true to themselves who are miserable. So, if you are ready to stop being what other people want you to be, and start being yourself, these affirmations can help.
1. I Pay Attention To How I Feel
If you are not being true to yourself, you will find that you don’t feel right. There will be something off, even if you can’t put your finger on it. And, sometimes, it will be such a loud and negative feeling that you won’t be able to ignore it – unless you are not paying attention to how you feel.
For instance, let’s say you are going to school to become an accountant. You may go in every day feeling blah and just trying to make it through the day. If you pay attention to how you feel, you may feel dread, sadness, anger, or confusion. Those negative feelings are telling you something! They are saying, ‘Something isn’t right here!’ And if you listen to them, you will find that it’s probably because you are not being yourself or honoring what you want in some way.
2. The World Wants Me To Be Myself
One of the most depressing things I’ve heard someone say is:
The world is a shitty place. It wants you to be a lot of things, but not yourself.
That’s a horrible thing to affirm to yourself! That’s going to keep you in a state of sadness all day and every day!
The truth is that you are unique and you have something unique to offer the world. By conforming to what you think other people want to see, you are not able to offer that unique thing that you have to offer. So you are literally doing the world a disservice by not being yourself. As Lisa Nichols would say, speak your truth so that you can help other people.
You may run into jerks, bullies, or sad people who don’t want you to be yourself, but why would you listen to them? They are miserable! Listen to all the people out there who have stepped out of the box and chosen to live by their own rules. They will value the fact that you are being yourself, and they will appreciate what you have to offer.
3. I Strive To Be My Better Self
Be yourself, but always your better self. – Karl G. Maeser
It’s important to stay true to your values, needs, and wants, and be yourself.
But, you can be moody, dramatic, lazy, unmotivated, or a mooch, and that’s not your better self. Your best self is the self that makes the most of their time, reaches for their dreams, does good things in this world, takes on challenges, and strives to be happier and healthier.
Use the affirmation ‘I strive to be my better self’ daily. You will find that your actions will start to fall in line with your new affirmation, and soon life will be about more than just waking up and going to bed – it will be about accomplishments, happiness, and love.
4. I Want To Be Different Than Everyone Else
Tony Bennett once said that if you just be yourself, you’re different than anyone else. It’s the truth because, as I said, you have something unique that nobody else has.
This affirmation will help you embrace the fact that you want to be yourself. It will help you quiet the voice that says, ‘You are not doing it like everyone else!’ or ‘You are standing out by being yourself!’
5. I Enjoy The Blessings I Get From Being Myself
When you start to be yourself, you find that blessings come into your life. You get what you want. You get what you need. You find life easier and less of a struggle.
For instance, I got to an age where I didn’t want to go out to the bar anymore. I wanted to stay home and work on things like personal growth or go spend quality time with my family. When I finally decided to be myself and admit that I wasn’t that party girl anymore, I was able to free myself from the routine and do things that made me feel more blessed. I also met my husband, which is one of the biggest blessings I’ve had in my life because I decided to be myself. I never would have met him if I was pretending to be the party girl that I wasn’t anymore.
6. I Want Real Connections, So I Be My Real Self
If you want true relationships in your life – ones that support you and sustain you through thick and thin – then you need to be yourself.
If you cannot be yourself, then people cannot know the real you.
You can’t blame people for not giving you what you need if you don’t show them what the real you needs.
You also cannot blame people for expecting stuff out of you that isn’t in line with who you are. If you are showing people something that is fake, then they are going to believe what you are showing them and expect things based on what they see and know.
Real connections with people start by being real.
7. I Don’t Need Everyone To Like Me
A lot of times we choose not to be ourselves because we want other people to like us. But, that’s living for others, not for you.
I can’t think of one person that everyone out there likes. Even the people I most admire and respect have haters. It’s just the way it is.
It doesn’t matter how much good you try to do, there are going to be people out there who are not happy with you. It’s a fact of life. Even if you try to be someone else, there will still be people who don’t like you.
So be yourself and know that the people who like you, like you for who you are.
8. I’m The Only One Who Chooses Who I Am
Nobody gets to say who you are except for you. You are the only one who knows your thoughts, fears, experiences, beliefs, and dreams. So you are the only one who can say who you are and how you should act for your best life.
I have a friend who wanted to be in a band. He didn’t just enjoy playing the guitar, he felt like he was a guitarist who should live his life playing music. But, his parents constantly told him that he was supposed to go to school, get an education, and get a traditional career that would sustain him through his life. They were dictating his life off their thoughts, fears, experiences, beliefs, and dreams, and unfortunately, he ended up letting them. He spent twenty years doing what they wanted. He spent twenty years letting them choose who he was. And he was miserable. When finally decided to be himself, he picked up his guitar again and his whole life changed.
If you want to be happy and fulfilled, you choose who you are, not your parents, friends, or community.
9. I Must Speak My Truth
When I decided to stop lying and start speaking my truth, my whole life changed. I was able to say what I meant, provoke change in my life and the world, and get more of what made me feel alive.
Now, I don’t tell people what I think they want to hear. I tell them my truth, and I get a lot of respect for it, especially in my closest relationships.
The truth earns you respect.
Lying earns you mistrust.
10. I Love My Authentic My Life
When you allow yourself to be yourself, you will love your life a lot more. You will enjoy your job, your relationships, and your free time more. It will all be more worthwhile and rewarding.
I dare you to find one person who loves their life when they are being inauthentic. They may outwardly pretend to love their life, but when they are at home, behind closed doors and thinking about what they are doing with their life, it won’t feel so great.
The people who are happiest with their lives are the ones who are being true to themselves. They do what they want, act how they want, dress how they want, talk how they want, and stand up for what they believe in.
