Did you know that a lot of goals in therapy revolve around helping people become their more "authentic selves"? In fact, the idea of self-actualization as explained by the great humanistic psychologist and theorist Carl Rogers is nothing more than "to be that self which one truly is." So while it might seem like making it to the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is about becoming someone different, someone "better," or someone society thinks you "should" be, it's actually about a deep sense of self-understanding, authentic living, and peeling away all the layers of conditioning that have been added over time so that you can be more uniquely and authentically YOU.
It goes without saying that in order to be the "self which one truly is" you must know the "self which one truly is," and given the vast majority of time and attention we spend on fitting into boxes or trying to understand the world outside us, truly and deeply knowing yourself can be a lot more work than you might think, given you've been by your side pretty much all of your life.
So what if you started to invest as much time and energy into uncovering the real, authentic, and totally unique you as you have in trying to become who you think you "should" be?*
*It should not be overlooked that we live in a society in which it is still very unsafe for many people and communities to express their “authentic” selves. It’s devastating that we have allowed a culture to exist in which being yourself is considered a privilege.
Disclaimer: While occasionally I include research and insights from my graduate classes in clinical psychology on my blog, I am not at this time a licensed therapist or mental health provider and therefore no content on this blog or website should not be considered or serve as replacement for therapeutic advice.
