There is something very powerful in realizing that each moment you spend not being who you truly are -- is a gigantic waste of time.
A little personal story: I realized about a year and a half ago that I had never truly been myself. I was focused on those around me, who was doing what, and what the "social norms" around me were. Fortunately, I learned that I didn't fit that very distinct mold and there is nothing wrong with that. I have a extremely dorky sense of humor and I covered that up very harshly...I rarely made jokes or added any commentary to a conversation. I'm an extremely imaginative person and especially when it comes to literature in school, my interpretations were often much different than my peers, which made me far less willing to share my ideas. I put myself in a box, I didn't want to show my personality because I was worried I wouldn't fit in or be accepted. I was worried that I would be placed as an outcast. A few dirty or confused looks early on in my childhood were what caused this fear, that I was different or weird. I eventually decided to start opening up and showing my colors to others, without fear of judgement. I followed my natural discretion rather than my learned prejudice towards how one should be.
When I shamelessly offered ideas to conversation and told my extremely dorky jokes, I began to grow in ways I never imagined. When you spend so long in a fearful viewpoint, concerned what others think, you become stagnant. Showing your true colors isn't always a sign of weakness, rather a sign of ability to grow and flourish.
Carol Dweck, a widely-known Stanford professor of Psychology, conducted a 20 year research study on what drives growth. Dweck found that as a society "We need to get out of the mode of self-judgment, of constantly judging our abilities from our actions. If we judge ourselves as we make mistakes, we are more intimidated than inspired to try again. We ought to celebrate instead the act of curiosity that led us to explore, and then try again" (Nilofer Merchant). As humans, we are prone to making mistakes and messing up, but based on our own preconception of what is "right" or "wrong" we can alter our willingness to learn and adapt.
And so, for those of you who may be reading this who don't always say what they want to say, do what they want to do, or think outside the social norms even when they may want to, this is your sign that it's time to be you. Spending another day biting your tongue would be hurting yourself even more, don't allow society to hold you down and do not conform to those around you. You were born who you were for a reason, and it would be a shame to waste that while you try to act like someone you are not.
