17 Benefits of Being Yourself

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” 

~e.e. cummings,

“Just be yourself” is a simple phrase for a very difficult task.

Often times we have spent so much of our lives being what we thought we needed to be for a myriad of reasons that we truly don’t know who the heck we are.  Whether it is believing something because we were raised in such a way, saying the perfect response to acquire the job we so desperately want, behaving a certain way to maintain a relationship with a significant other or wearing a certain piece of clothing because it’s the trend of the season and want to fit in, we consciously contort ourselves to become what others would prefer us to be, or what we think others want us to be instead of being who we are meant to be.

As Cummings states in his above quote, to follow along is by far the easier and less aversive decision, but it certainly isn’t a path that leads to contentment or fulfillment.

After all, each of us is born with innate talents, skills and gifts packaged with the details of our own rare physicality, family background, experience and time in history that the world has never seen the likes of before. Why then are we so willing to let this amazing phenomenon be so swiftly cast aside so that we can look like, act like and be accepted like, someone else?



Quite simply, and I’ve been guilty of this in my past, it’s easier.  It’s much less painful if one is a teenager to do as the crowd does; it’s much less emotionally draining to be the yes-man at work than to stand up and speak; and it’s much less agonizing to be numbed by incessant conversation and hoopla than to be uncomfortable in your own company. So yes, people who haven’t found the strength, and it takes a lot,  decide instead to go along – to play a role.  But in simply playing a role we are rudely ignoring the short time we have here on this rock we call earth. We are ignoring that our time, as we all know, but seem to forget, is finite.

While initially stepping out on the journey of getting to know just who we are and developing the person who is discovered is difficult, the road will gradually become less treacherous and much much more enjoyable than anything ever experienced while pretending to be someone else.  Here are a few of the benefits I have found while letting myself just be me and developing the person I have found.

1. Be able to trust yourself
2. Be able to listen to others’ opinions and not be swayed

3. Find a genuine source of contentment that cannot be taken away
4. A courageous person emerges
5. Let your unique, creative talents shine
6. Attract people (friends, lovers, co-workers, employers) who appreciate the REAL you
7. Be able to revel in success that is truly yours

8. Your intuition is honed
9. Waste less time worrying about what others think
10. Understanding your feelings, knowing what makes you tick
11. A more sincere and magnetic person emerges



12. Being accepting of personal flaws and mistakes
13. Becoming gentler toward yourself
14. Realizing you are worthy, just as you are, always have been & always will be
15. Respond to difficult situations more effectively and healthfully
16. Capable of following through and reaching goals
17. Able to discover your purpose

So today, consciously be aware of what interests you, what attracts your attention, what stirs your imagination and causes you to lose all track of time, and try to do your best to ignore the persuasion of what others might think, say or how you might be treated. After all, it is their fear that prompts them to pass judgment on you because truthfully you may be an enigma that they can’t understand or explain.  Continue to surprise, dazzle and enrich your life by just being you. It is the best gift you could ever possibly give yourself.

I encourage you to share the benefits that you have encountered as you too have welcomed the idea of just being yourself. Thank you for stopping by today and have a beautiful and inspired Monday.

Images: (1) Encore! Life (2) Vogue and Coffee (3) Baroque Simplicity (4) Southern Sophisticate (5) Musings In Femininity