As you start sustaining sufficient self-worth, you can begin to embody your best true self. You should always effectively prioritize yourself. Once again, it is not a selfish action or behavior because, if you are your best self, it allows you to provide your best support and assistance to all others around you. So, each of us should focus on being our best self.
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
-Judy Garland
Trust me. I completely understand, firsthand, how terrifying and uncomfortable it can be to fully and truly embrace your authenticity; I am one of the weirdest people I know. I mean, come on, I write posts here as “a sugjester” :) I make up my own words on occasion and live my life in significantly different and seemingly-unusual ways compared to the vast majority of people. Do you know what, though? I absolutely love it. Despite the discomfort at times when I put myself out there in honest, open, transparent, and vulnerable ways, I feel better afterwards because I am not compromising on who and how I am. I do not feel empty or hollow inside as a result of trying to live my life according to societal standards of what we should be like in order to be “normal” in the twenty-first century. Normal is a fake illusion. Authenticity is an absolute truth.
There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.
-Michelle Obama
Are you using your authentic voice? I am.
Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.