Authenticity: What Does it Mean to Be Authentic?

“Just be yourself,” “stay true to who you are,” and “be authentic” are common pieces of advice these days. The idea is that there is something genuine about who we are, and that expressing this “true self” rather than changing ourselves to meet other people’s expectations will make us happier and help us live more fulfilling lives.

But…

• What does “being yourself” or “being authentic” actually mean?
• How do we know when we are genuinely being ourselves?
• Is being authentic always good advice?
• When does adapting to others become people-pleasing or pretending? Is this always wrong?
• Does authenticity mean expressing exactly what we feel, or choosing actions that reflect our deeper values?
• Is there a single “true self” underneath all the roles we play, or can we be authentic while behaving differently with friends, family, colleagues, and strangers?

At the next meetup, we will discuss authenticity from psychological and practical perspectives. We will explore some of our everyday assumptions about what it means to “be yourself” and compare them with how authenticity is understood in psychological science.
We will also consider whether trying to be authentic is always helpful and what living authentically might actually look like in everyday life.

We will also have time to talk about ourselves and brainstorm ideas for future meetups.

See you soon.
Ángel

P.D. If you would like to suggest a question for us to discuss and add to the list above, please let me know.