“When you live your story, you don’t have to pretend you’re someone you’re not. You can just be yourself.” Blake Mycoskie
Personally, I love pretending to be someone I’m not. My two favorite things are Halloween and historical reenactment. I have a basement full of costumes, and I like nothing more than dressing up like someone else.
Donning a costume allows me to unleash my inner wannabes. Wannabe a knight in shining armor? Wrap yourself in aluminum foil and strap on a kitchen knife (I’m all about improvising when I need to). Wannabe a rock star? Try some fake tattoos (or the real thing, if you’re so inclined; I happen to be covered with body art), grab a plastic guitar, and use a garden spade as your microphone (like I said, I’m good at improvising). Or, make it really easy, and just head to the nearest karaoke bar.
At one time or another, all of us have had to pretend to be someone else. “Fake it ‘til you make it” is a well-known phrase in recovery forums, and has become a mainstream sentiment as well. Nervous about an upcoming interview? Pretend to be the smartest person on the planet. Afraid of public speaking? Pretend you’re just talking to a friend (that whole, “picture everyone naked” approach never worked for me anyway).
However, being yourself is just a whole lot easier than trying to be someone you’re not. It takes an incredible amount of psychic and spiritual energy to be constantly making yourself up as you go.
For example, as long as you have to work in order to have what you need or want your life to include, you’ll be happier—or at least more willing to show up and do the work—if the work you do aligns with your Authentic Self and what is most important to you. If you describe yourself as Introverted, you might be happier teleworking than working in an office environment where everyone is chummy, and there is an expectation of doing things together socially. As another example, if you define yourself as Spontaneous, you might find that working at a 9-to-5 job where you have to sign in and out is too restrictive.
Oscar Wilde said this, “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”
Are you living your own glorious, inspiring, significant life story? Or, are you a wolf in sheep’s clothing, longing to howl at the moon, but only able to bleat weakly with the other sheep?
Think about it!