I was thinking about the preaching of authenticity and how not all of it is healthy – I was thinking about not just the downsides but the advantages of pretending: In all of my youth i found clues on who i am by boldly pretending and creative imitation. „Fake it till you make it“ they say and it is true in the sense that sometimes you need to lie to yourself to realize how much of the lie is actually true. You need to wear the shoe to know if it fits.
So what happens to young people being constantly told, they just need to be themselves in order to succeed? They probably feel like it‘s wrong to pretend. They feel like a liar, when in fact, they just try to be someone they can recognize as themselves. I wish this insecure soul would bravely pronounce „I have the right to try being someone before i can announce how much of that someone is actually me.“ 🙏🏼 Raphael
