Being authentic is a problem for many people. In school, at work or even at home, it can be difficult to be authentic, but why is this difficult? And what can you do to be more authentic? Find out in this blog.
What does authentic mean?
According to the Van Dale, authentic means: credible, reliable and real. In other words, something is original and not fake. For clothing and furniture, for example, this is very important in determining value.
For people, being authentic is also important because if you are "real," then that means you are you and that makes you come across as credible. So in addition to that, that credibility and reliability is important.
Authentic Human
An authentic person is someone who is completely themselves, that is, they have almost no mask on. Now you may think that people who look a little alternative are authentic, but someone who presents themselves as authentic is not necessarily so.
In one study, people had to look at a color and were told that the color would change. This included the suggestion that authentic people would see a more dramatic color change than people who were not authentic. The color remained the same throughout the study, but people thus thought the color would change. People who presented as authentic also felt that the color change was more intense. For the researchers, this was proof that being authentic can be part of your identity and that it affects your behavior in such a way that wanting to be authentic causes you to actually become inauthentic. You are going to say things because they are in line with your desired identity, even if it is not true[1].
So if you see someone who doesn't care about certain social norms and you think this is because that person is authentic, it doesn't have to be so. It could also be that that person is doing this because they identify themselves in a certain way and through certain behaviors get a reaction from those around them that they want. Maybe it doesn't even actually feel that pleasant for that person to look so "different.
To be authentic, it is important to know yourself and then act in line with that knowledge[2].
There are a number of benefits to being authentic, such as:
- More creativity
- Being able to deal with change
- You can adapt to new situations
- More often intrinsically motivated
- Higher innovativeness at work
Being Authentic
So being authentic is not always very obvious and can just be part of your identity. What is especially important is that you can make decisions to be yourself, even if there are social pressures not to do so[3].
This could be about the clothes you put on to the office, for example. But it can also be about what you do at funerals and parties. So in all kinds of situations where there is a certain social expectation that you would not meet if you were completely yourself.
Only, what if living up to that is being totally yourself now? Then isn't that authentic too? If you actually enjoy buying office outfits or putting on something bright at parties and looking appropriate when you need to mourn.
So being different is certainly not the same as being authentic. Being yourself, even if it does fit social norms, that is being authentic.
What's also nice is that when you are authentic this is good for your ability to solve problems. After all, you worry less about what other people may think of your solution, which frees you up to be creative when seeking a solution (source 2).
In addition, authentic behavior is good for you if you feel very identified with where you need to behave. For example, if you feel very connected to your work, then you can be authentic there. In that case, it often reduces conflict and authenticity improves your performance. However, do you not feel connected to your work or colleagues? Then being authentic can actually be detrimental to you, create more conflicts and reduce your performance[4].
This is why it's so important to find work that suits you and why employers often look for someone who fits on the team.
Authentic behavior
So how do you make sure you have authentic behavior? Research shows that how you feel is important to your behavior. For example, awareness of your body and emotions help you to be authentic in the behavior you want to have. So for this, it is important that you also feel connected to your body and understand what emotions you are feeling. Mindfulness is a good way to make that connection with your body and the emotions and that can help you show more authentic behavior[5].
In doing so, you do things for yourself but not to please someone else or to avoid an unpleasant consequence, such as punishment[6]. However, this doesn't necessarily mean you don't adapt when necessary. You simply see better where you can adapt somewhat and where you can be completely yourself. This is especially important for authentic leadership.
Authentic Leadership
Authentic leadership is not only good for yourself, it can carry over into the team you lead. It can even improve the creativity of your team members (source 2).
Authentic leadership requires self-awareness, being able to process information without suffering from bias (a kind of prejudice you want confirmed), behaving authentically, your orientation to relationships is authentic (source 6).
Self-awareness means that you are aware of the values you value and can live by them. In addition, you also have sufficient self-confidence. Also, this self-awareness ensures that you can choose to regulate yourself and be positive.
This positive being, for example, refers to achieving hedonic pleasure, something is fun because it is fun, and to achieving eudainomic pleasure, something is fun because it is meaningful. You feel good in the latter case because you can be yourself and do something that you consider important.
In addition to knowing yourself, being authentic involves accepting yourself and, as a result, learning how to interact with your environment. You feel like you have control over your life.
Become more authentic
So to become more authentic, a few things matter:
- You know yourself and you know what you want.
- You have enough confidence to be who you are.
- You don't necessarily do your best to be "authentic.
A hypnotherapist can help you determine what you want now and can help you gain enough confidence to be yourself. In addition, blockages can be examined that are now preventing you from doing what you really want to do. If necessary, these can be changed or removed.
With regression and progression, for example, you can get to know yourself and find out that you know what you want. Regression is a way to look back and look for certain behaviors in your life, which are something you want or something you want to change. Then with hypnosis you can do something with those memories that will either make it easier for you to do what you did before or change something you actually want to stop.
With progression, you learn to visualize a certain vision of the future, something you want. Then you can take steps back in your mind to the moment in the chair. This helps you have a plan to actually achieve what you want.
In the process, this roadmap will also help you become more confident.
Another way to become more confident in being who you are is by strengthening your ego. This can be done by repeating certain suggestions such as:
"I am good enough the way I am."
"It's okay to be myself, even if I'm not separate."
"When I feel normal, I feel like myself."
These are just examples. Depending on your problems with being authentic, you can get other suggestions to improve your self-confidence and be authentic, without having to put in the effort.
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