The Fear of Being Who You Are
Where it comes from and how to move past it
We are the sum of the five people we spend the most time with.
Mimicry — that’s how we learn. Hardwired from the start to blend in, to be like those around us.
Teenagers try to assert their individuality, to break apart from who their parents are. They want to be different. So they choose the clothes and music their friends like. Follow trends they saw on Tiktok.
How do we know who we are? Without the influence of everything around me, who would I be?
Occasionally I find a seedling of who I really am. A little spark of uniqueness all my own. An idea that flitters up from the depths of my consciousness. And I know it’s mine in a meta-logical way. Beyond logic. I can’t explain or reason the idea, but I know it’s important. I can feel it.
In those moments there is a crossroads. A point at which I have a choice to turn this way or that. Will I follow this instinct, blindly? Or will the words of the world convince me to ignore it?
These tiny moments are our few precious chances to be who we are. And when we open to them — quieting the voices of the world and tuning into our own inner voice — amazing things happen. Because when we stop abiding and begin creating, we express…
