Drop the Mask and Be Your Authentic Self

For it is agonizing to always be watching yourself in fear of being caught when your usual mask has slipped.” ~ Seneca

Human beings are conditioned to stay safe.

Like any animal in the wild, our natural inclination is to avoid danger. And one of the most effective ways for any animal to stay safe is to blend in with their surroundings. To not stand out. To not be different. To not draw attention to themselves.

For us humans, the best way to blend in and stay safe is to act like everyone else.

So, we look to others on how we should dress, how we should speak, how we should behave, what we should believe.

In other words…

We put on a mask.

We shun our authentic selves. We trade the freedom of authenticity for the safety of blending in. We hide behind the mask of convention.

Every so often, we forget ourselves and let the mask slip. We reveal our authentic selves. Do we revel in this new found freedom of being ourselves? No. We fear what others may think of the true version of ourselves and we put the mask back on.

We play it safe.

But in reality, playing it safe is the most dangerous thing we can do. Nothing great was ever accomplished by someone who was trying to act just like everyone else. The people who do great things are the ones who think differently and do things differently. They go AGAINST the grain. The people that we remember the most are the ones who stood out the most. The ones who ignored convention and did it their way.

We don’t remember the faces in the crowd, we remember the one who was standing on stage, for everyone to see.

Think of some of the most remembered and celebrated people in history. They didn’t play it safe by putting on a mask and blending in with the crowd. These were people who stood out front with confidence and authenticity. They chose the scariness of authenticity over the security of wearing a mask.

Don’t be the face in the crowd. Stand up front so everyone can see you and what you believe in. Trying to be what others want you to be is tiring. Give yourself a break. Be yourself. The world doesn’t need a watered-down version of someone else. Or a cobbled-together mish-mash of a bunch of other people.

We need you. The genuine, authentic you.

Stop copying. Stop imitating. Stop trying to be what you think others want you to be.

Be yourself.

The fearful blend in with the crowd. The brave stand out.

Be brave.

Drop the mask.