Four Undeniable Truths of Being an Authentic Man
Mark Belden overcame years of self-loathing and learned to become an authentic man. He wants you to know his secrets.
By Mark Belden
Here’s a scenario: you meet a woman and she asks, “How long was your last relationship?”
You tell her two years even though it was a 2-week fling off Tinder. As soon as the words come out of your mouth you think, why’d I lie?
I could link research to why being authentic and acting with integrity is important, but let’s be real. No one makes behavior changes strictly off facts. If that was true, tobacco companies would have gone out of business a long time ago.
Being authentic is something we all crave, but in moments of weakness we stop being ourselves to be what we think others expect.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “just be yourself.” Years ago, balls deep in my drug and alcohol phase, depressed because I couldn’t get a girlfriend, my mom said, “Just be yourself.” It couldn’t have resonated less with me.
Let’s clarify what “just be yourself” means. It means “be authentic.” Brene Brown wrote the best definition of authenticity in her book Gifts of Imperfection.
