The Observer
Related Articles
Life always offers us the opportunity to choose what best suits us, presenting a myriad of paths that we can take. Our choices, whether they are big or small, define our personality, and in turn, our personality tells the world who we are. We can choose to live a fake life, masking our true selves and deceiving everyone around us, or we can choose the opposite, embracing authenticity and transparency. As I stated, we define ourselves by our choices, and these choices shape our identity and influence how we interact with the world. The people around us, through their reactions and affirmations, provide us with a feedback loop regarding what we define ourselves by; they serve as a metric we use to value ourselves and our decisions.
A wise man once said that we will encounter a plethora of opinions and judgments all around us, both positive and negative. It is up to us to make a conscious choice about which of these perspectives we choose to feed on. What we feed on is what grows; thus, if you consistently feed on the negative, you will inevitably become negative in perspective. Mark Manson, a modern philosopher and author, makes us understand that what we truly need to worry about in life is what is real and immediate. He emphasises that any attempt to quash, silence, or eliminate our negative feelings and thoughts will ultimately backfire. This means that, as humans, we should always strive to be real and honest with ourselves, facing our challenges head-on and working towards making a meaningful impact out of them, rather than hiding from them.
Consider the scenario of a person who is at home and finds it challenging to access the Internet. However, when that same person finally gets free access, they might tend to hijack it, using it excessively and making it difficult for others to also benefit from that resource. This behaviour illustrates how easy it is to become consumed by something that we once lacked, leading to a sense of entitlement that can cloud our judgment.
There is a particularly illustrative story about a young graduate from law school who joined a group of other young graduates for a collaborative project. He initially expressed that he was not a fan of phones and claimed that he could easily leave his phone behind to engage in more meaningful activities, such as socialising or even enjoying nature, rather than being glued to the Internet. However, at a point in time, they were all put together in a common space with free access to the Internet and phone calls. To everyone’s surprise, this young law school graduate, at every small opportunity, would be seen accessing the Internet, and when on the phone, he could spend close to an hour calling different people as if he were the minister of information. This behaviour raised eyebrows and led others to question whether he was being genuine or simply living a facade.
Living your life and not merely your shadow means that, in life, one must be true to oneself and authentic in one’s actions. Although the trend of fake news and the prevalence of misinformation in today’s society do not necessarily mean that one must live a false life, it can enhance superficial applause in the short term. However, this approach might not be healthy for our physical and psychological well-being in the long run. For this reason, we often find ourselves having to put up tricks to compensate for our shadow living, creating a dichotomy between who we are and who we project ourselves to be. Ultimately, embracing authenticity is crucial for a fulfilling life.
