Everything lost by being yourself makes your life better

One reason people avoid being themselves is that they fear what they would lose if they did. They rightly identify the many good situations, people, and things in their lives that cannot coexist with authenticity. What they don’t realize is that what they would lose through honesty isn’t worth having, and stands in the way of what is much better. If you were truly yourself, all of the time, you would obliterate your ability to participate in meaningless work, shallow relationships, and frivolous entertainment. Identifying and removing the fake placeholders that occupy your resources and attention clears the path for obtaining the real thing:¹ quality relationships with others, meaningful work, and a fulfilling transcendent purpose.