#34: IS “BE YOURSELF” A BAD ADVICE?

Now, than ever, is the time we love painting a rosy picture of ourselves with positive affirmations. 

This is why whenever something happens to us we rush to find a motivational quote or post to use in validating ourselves. The self-help industry knows this. At least, that's why the multibillion dollar industry keeps you posted with all this stuff in the name of helping you tighten the nuts and bolts that are loose in your life.

They promise to bring together your broken pieces so you can be a better you. And then because you so believe in them (I don't mean you shouldn't), you keep subscribing to more and more doses of these positive affirmations without necessarily thinking through.

“Oh, you can be this and that. You can become XYZ star in the world. All you have to do is be yourself.” But what if you're a stupid person or an idiot who has no sense of responsibility? What if...?

Does that imply that being yourself means you should continue being stupid or an idiot? Does it?

The problem with positive affirmations like be yourself is that it has the capacity to inflate your sense of self-esteem irrespective of the context you fit it in—be it good or bad, positive or negative.

For instance, if you're a chronic smoker and I tell you to “be yourself in whatever situation you find yourself in”, chances are you will smoke wherever you find yourself and even go on to say “I'm just being myself”. On the flip side (that's if you're not a smoker), the opposite will be the case.

Clearly, positive affirmations can be interpreted in different ways depending on your perspectives about life. When you tell me to be myself, I'll definitely evaluate it from the subjective lens of my own values and experiences.

What we ought to take due cognisance of is the context we fit positive affirmations. 

Passively taking in positive affirmations without putting it into context is not good. However, doing so requires a consciously guided self-assessment.

That, if done thoroughly, will help you in becoming conscious of which affirmation to heed or not. That said, it's no longer a passive application. It then becomes an active and also thorough evaluation before application (to your life).

Be yourself is not a one-size-fits-all advice. Thus, when I tell you to be yourself, it can be a bad or good advice depending on the context you put it in and the context that I, the one giving the advice, did put it in.

So be yourself isn't really a bad advice after all. You just have to be cautiously conscious of it using your conscience.