Remember how your parents and teachers always said, "Just be yourself and you'll be fine"? You probably wished that were true, while shaking your head at getting such bad advice from people who really ought to know better.
One of the keys to personal happiness (and to having fun) is being truly, deeply, flagrantly ourselves. In fact, liberating the best and truest version of ourselves in every moment. The struggle is that we're constantly tempted to adjust who we are—if not sacrifice it altogether—to obtain the approval of others.
This is always a colossal waste of time and energy. Not only is it impossible to please everyone else (or sometimes, to please anyone) but it's a kind of casual self-betrayal that accumulates and accrues over a lifetime.
It's true: The greatest gift we can give ourselves, and the world, is just to relax and be who we are—no negotiation, no regrets. Just be yourself and you'll be fine.
Cindi breaks it down:
I always have to remind myself: You're not just given a good voice. You're not just given the ability to articulate what you feel.
You're also given who you are. And who you are is part of your instrument.
And the people who raise you, they're part of your instrument. And your surroundings are also your gift and your muse.
It took me a long time to realize all of that.
— Cyndi Lauper, 2007, Live . . . at Last
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Twittering vixenish things @WriterVixen
