The lie of 'just be yourself.' Why I misunderstood this phrase.
1/5 Nourishment for the heart🌱 English phrases ☕ This morning's cup
Keep being you — that’s your power.
Stay as you are.
That is your strength.
“Be yourself.”
“It’s okay to just be you.”
These are common phrases, but
actually, for a long time,
I just couldn't bring myself to like them.
In fact, I even felt a sense of 'phoniness' in them.
Why did I feel uncomfortable with 'being yourself'?
To me, the word 'yourself' sounded
like an excuse to settle for the status quo.
“I am who I am, so I don't need to change.”
“This is just me, so it has nothing to do with those around me.”
I sensed a kind of human arrogance or
intellectual laziness that stops one from growing.
People who stop moving, regress.
To me, who believed that,
the phrase 'it's okay to just be yourself'
felt like a sweet poison.
However, this English phrase I encountered one day
vividly cleared up that misunderstanding and gave me a new perspective.
Keep being you — that’s your power.
(Stay as you are. That is your strength.)
The decisive difference between 'Be' and 'Keep being' that English taught me
When you read this quote deeply,
a completely different landscape appears
compared to the Japanese 'as you are'.
The point is"Keep being you" the expression.
"Be yourself" (be as you are), which we learn in school,is an image of a 'point' indicating the current state.
In contrast,"Keep being you" feels like an image of a 'line' as time flows.
The verb"Keep" used here
contains a strong will.
Keep (maintain/continue): An active action of 'continuing to maintain' your core without losing it, even amidst external pressure or changing environments.
In other words, the 'you as you are' that this quote speaks of
is not 'you standing still without doing anything'.
'Being yourself' is something you keep updating
I only recently realized it. True 'authenticity' is not about refusing to change, but rather
the very process of continuing to change.
In English, there is the word "Authenticity"
, and it is said that the etymology of this word comes from the Greek meaning 'to achieve by oneself.'
I think the common trait of people who are 'authentic' is that they are people who are always facing themselves and continuing to grow.
People who do not cling to who they were yesterday, but who continue to polish their own axis (Power) while incorporating a new self.
The word 'authentic' is
a very active word that can only be used for people who keep moving
, or at least that is how it seems to me now.
Don't stop your 'Power'
Keep being you — that’s your power.
If you are currently struggling with a challenge or fighting to change yourself...
that 'figure of trying to evolve' is the true nature of your authenticity.
When I think of it that way...
staying in one place saying 'it's fine because it's like me' might be regression.
Conversely, 'even if I don't know if this is like me,' continuing to move might actually be evolution and growth.
Are you evolving 'authentically' right now?
Have a wonderful day🍀
English Coach Kumi
For those who lack confidence or are afraid of English, here is a map of how to connect with the world↓↓↓
