I read an article recently from the Stanford Graduate School of Business that discusses authenticity as a marketing tool, and it made me think about the similarities (and differences!) between professional authenticity and personal authenticity.

Titled “Authenticity’s Paradox: If You Flaunt It, You Lose It,“ the article focuses solely on marketing authenticity for business and restaurants. While it has a professional leaning, there are some points made that I believe translate well into personal development. All excerpts shown in this post are pulled directly from the article, linked above.

The Purpose of Authenticity

For marketing, the article says that one of the reasons to market authenticity is individuation:
“Why are we drawn to authenticity? Part of it is an attempt to individuate ourselves and find something that’s different and more appealing to us than it is to the masses…There are theories that it has to do with the loss of identity in mass society — that we’re all trying to individuate ourselves.”

For many, the want to individuate sparks their personal growth. But it becomes less about what makes us stand out as we progress. The focus shifts and becomes about all the ways we are connected to everyone and everything. It is by uncovering ourselves that we also come to identify how we are intertwined with everything else. We aim to live authentically in order to find connections on more meaningful subjects, not to stand apart.

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Transparency is Key

Another tool mentioned as being key to pulling off “authenticity” is transparency. When marketing your business, in order to come off as authentic it requires “revealing who you are and what you are — your identity — and making that transparent.” I would definitely agree that transparency is needed in personal authentication as well…Transparency with yourself!

Your character and identity are your own, but unless you are transparent with yourself, there will be challenges to fully embracing your story, your present, and your life purpose. Something highlighted in the article that I wholeheartedly agree with is that being transparent can be hard because it “goes against a lot of people’s impulses, because they want to control information.” Coming into our own is all about letting go of the control and embracing vulnerability.

An authentic life eventually comes full circle. We start connected to everything, but living by the rules handed to us by another. We pull away to analyze the rules, reconfigure and redefine them by our own standards, and eventually return. But our return is different than when we departed. We come back, but on our own terms. We are freed from the need to control our perception or the perception of others on us. This is authenticity — being truthful with yourself and allowing your light to shine regardless of who’s looking.

Remove the Labels

“…if you’re perceived as authentic, it’s good for you — but only if others say it about you. You, yourself, you almost need to disown it.” 
One thing I would say is different from what the post shares, is that in order to be seen as authentic, you need to disown it. I believe that when you have found your true Self and share that with others, it is not about whether you are seen as authentic or not. Personal growth and authenticity is never for another person so another’s opinions have no standing on how authentic you are. Choose to live your best life and you will be welcomed by other likeminded individuals.

It’s not about shouting your truth from the rooftops and shoving it in people’s faces. You likewise should not downplay who you are or your purpose. If you have previously learned to downplay compliments or statements about your person, stop doing that. There’s a large group of people who have been growing along with you and are ready to connect, share their experiences, and create new memories together.

Let Your Truth Shine

We don’t find our Self by relying on the labels and mantles placed upon us by others. Our identity is only revealed through our own purposeful actions and by removing all that others have placed upon us. In this way being authentic is embracing your truth and living it. There’s no need to speak it to make it true. Your actions will speak for themselves.  When it comes to embracing your truth, you are not selfish or conceited to recognize who you are, what you do, and how you share yourself with others. Don’t dim your light in order to fit in. Shine bright.

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