An Epidemic of Inauthenticity 

There is a serious epidemic in modern day American culture. There are many symptoms; it’s hard to diagnose it as just one thing. Some of the symptoms include: feeling not good enough, the need to be different than you are, pretending to be someone else, trying to control everything, the desire for perfection… I suppose you could wrap most of this up in the “lack of self worth” box. 

It’s a rampant issue that is literally everywhere. From photoshopped selfies to people continuously comparing themselves to others to letting the media decide what’s beautiful, what’s right and wrong, what’s healthy… It’s such a huge part of our everyday lives that it may not even seem like that big of a deal. What’s the point of even writing about it? It’s just the way things are, right? 

It’s actually a huge deal. Playing around with the app that Photoshops away all your wrinkles and blemishes and makes you look 10 years younger may seem harmless at first (it is, after all, quite entertaining). But the issue is that it’s becoming a weekly, or daily habit to alter who we are, and people are altering who they are at an alarming rate. What is a huge issue here is that we are creating and supporting a culture and way of life where people aren’t real people anymore. We are in danger of becoming holographic projections of the people we think we should be. When you zoom out and look at the bigger picture of what we are creating, it’s quite scary. We’re creating a world where most people are pretending they are someone else. What does it mean for humanity if hardly anyone is real? 

Human beings need each other, and we need authentic connection. We are meant to live in a community, and each community member shines in their particular way. This is incredibly important and necessary for the tribe. If the community is full of people who are holograms, how do you create and maintain true and lasting connections with each other? How do you have a true, connected, loving partnership with someone else if neither of you are your true selves? How do you build lasting businesses and thriving economies if no one is real? 

You may think I’m overreacting. Perhaps I am. I hope I am. I hope we intervene with gargantuan authenticity and never get to this place of massive disconnection. The solution, in my opinion—is truly loving yourself just as you are, and loving others just as they are. 🡨 Lovely sentence. Sounds simple. It is simple. But simple and easy are different things. 

In a world where we are constantly told how to be, what to think or do, being yourself is a revolutionary act. 

So, who are you—really? What are you like when no one is around? Can you celebrate your imperfections and view them as badges of authenticity? You sense the immense freedom that would come with just not giving a damn what anyone else thinks? Can you give yourself full permission to just be YOU?  

Permission is often the key to unlock the door of any feelings of inauthenticity. You are soooo beautiful just the way you are. The world needs you, just the way you are. You are more than enough. You are an epic combination of spirit living in a material form. And you are the author-ity on your own life. You are literally the writer in this story you’re living. Make it a good one, love.