How To Be The Real You In A World Full Of Fakes
How To Be The Real You In A World Full Of Fakers
Being fake, if there is anything on this planet I despise more than anything its fake people. By this I mean people who pretend to be something they are not, those who put on a front for the sake of appearances and the respect or admiration of others.
If I’m being completely honest, I think I’m in the minority with this opinion. I only base this off of the fact that some of the most popular TV shows at the moment are full of people who are ‘faking it’. From Made In Chelsea to Housewives of wherever. This new breed of ‘reality’ celebrities are often anything but real.
They live (at least on screen) these picture perfect lives, in beautiful homes, in beautiful areas. Where their greatest problem is who’s shagging who, behind someone else’s back. I say all of this condescendingly of course. But it's difficult for me to believe the insane number of viewers that shows like this draw in.
The issue here isn’t the TV that people choose to watch. At the end of the day, how you choose to entertain yourself in your spare time is your business. My concern comes down to how these programs and their associated personalities or influencers are effective peoples perception of themselves.
Along with the boom of social media, which brought us the ability to edit, apply filters and otherwise choose what elements of our lives get put on show. It’s becoming harder and harder to figure out what is real.
If you are reading this, quite frankly I assume you are already unplugged from the matrix and aware of everything I’ve said so far. But even as someone on the outside, I have personally felt the pressures of these social phenomenons and their effects on my own creativity and content.
We can end up creating a weird type of censorship for ourselves. Not based on moral values or looking out for other peoples feelings. But down to what we feel will draw attention and generate viewership. Beyond that, we end up with a distorted view of essential parts of life such as love, happiness and friendship.
So what’s the solution? How do we stay true to ourselves and our own unique message to the world. And in doing so, is it possible to still (if you wish to do so) generate a following or build an audience.
I think it starts with accepting that some of our greatest fears that held us back in the first place.
You are not perfect, no one is. Not even if they appear to be on social media. Your imperfections are just as much a part of you as anything else. In fact, for the most part, they are what give you your character and charm. Embrace them, show them off, be proud of them. Firstly realise that a lot of people out there are looking for people to relate to. For common ground. Don’t think that you can’t inspire others because you are not perfect, in fact it's the very fact that you are imperfect and proud of it that can be inspiring for others. I know the people I look up to the most are the people who give the least fucks.
Next, its about finding your unique voice. It's very easy to get caught up in the imitation trap. To see someone who’s success you aspire to and think that by copying them you can replicate it. Whilst this isn’t unheard of, its not you being true to yourself. Which in the long run I think is what will bring you true happiness and fulfilment.
My honest advice on it all is to start small. Yes it sounds weird, but depending on where you are at with all this, you might be extremely uncomfortable with being yourself. It makes you vulnerable, because of course. If people don’t like a real picture of you, then this must mean that they don’t like you. This is why it is so easy, and tempting to hide behind an airbrushed version ourselves. If they like it, we feel good, if they don’t, we are protected by the fact that it's not even the real us anyway.
Start with asking yourself a question whenever you are creating something, or choosing to post it. Is this a reflection of who I really am? Also. Whilst we are asking our selves questions. Ask, why do I want to post this?
By interrupting ourselves with a few personal questions about our actions, we can insure that the decisions we are making are in our best interest. That the things we are creating, and the digital version of ourselves is true to who we are inside.
Finally, and I touched on this earlier. You must learn to not rely on the opinions of others for your sense of self fulfilment or worth. Do not post things with the views of getting ‘likes’ or ‘subs’ or ‘follows’. Post because you want to, create because you want to. Create what you want and if people resonate with what you are putting out there, then great, and if they don’t, then let that be great too.
