“Be Yourself” They Said.
By: Samantha Drobac
Tags: Growth Mindset, Personal Growth, Philosophy, Beyourself, Psychology

Speaking of questions… I noticed something that led me to wonder a few things about human behavior.

Photo by Sam Balye on Unsplash

Suppose you’re in a room- and there are other people in the room (almost like a restaurant setting) and if you were to just go and sit at a table on your own in the middle of that room but you don’t do anything… you just sit and observe your environment.

People will eventually notice and think you’re odd and will wonder what you’re up to.

Why?

What’s the big deal with just sitting down and just checking everyone else out?

By not meeting their expectation by being on your phone, talking to someone, or reading, you’re making them feel uneasy.

So I thought about it… and I came up with this theory:

People take it as a threat.

Odd behavior is unpredictable — and that creates internal chaos for those witnessing this. We like what’s familiar because it gives us an idea of what to expect and we dislike the unknown because we have no idea how it will affect us.

You are potentially interfering with other plans for the day, at least while their lives are shared with yours by being in the same space.

This is a true story by the way. I actually sat in a room, full of other people and did nothing but absorb my surroundings. I didn’t pick up my phone or sat next to someone which is what I would normally do.

The fact that this time I was speculating my environment, is when people began to take notice. This wasn’t my normal behavior, it was not what others were expecting.

I found it very interesting to see how people would feel uncomfortable by me just being in the present and actually paying attention to what was around me. I would think the same way! that’s the thing! I would think that person is a complete weirdo also. Is that what society has boiled down to? We have to be discreet about simply wanting to sit and look around?

So the title of this story is: “Be Yourself” They Said.

Sure, we can all be ourselves to an extent. We share the world with others therefore we must consider them when we are amongst them.

That is understandable.

Is being ourselves a privilege? A privilege that comes at a high cost?

We all know of someone that sticks to who they are and we have heard their stories on how much rejection and criticism they face for doing so.

It’s not an easy road, which is why most don’t follow it.

Those that do, sacrifice so much to be able to stand their ground and I also see this always pays off; if they were strong enough to stand the judgments of others.

If there is one thing I dislike in people, is their inauthenticity.

Even if I am faced with an extremely arrogant jerk. If he admits that is who he is, then it is a complete game-changer for me. Not only will I accept him, but I will even like him due to being true to who he is.

Because it requires courage and not giving a shit about what others think or placing so much value on others' opinions about them.

This is admirable.

Final thoughts.

Own who you are. Flaunt it.

If you don’t like something about yourself — which we all share — do some introspection before you change something.

Who are you changing for? Will it make it a better version of you?

Is it going to kick-back because it will only be repressed?

Some aspects of ourselves that others criticize about us, can be extremely useful, like weapons.

Not all weapons need to be abolished simply trained to use when necessary.