On Being Who You Are – And Not Taking Others Personally

Artwork by: Catrin-Welz-Stein

On Being Who You Are – And Not Taking Others Personally

There’s something magnetic about watching someone who is unfiltered, sharp, and unapologetically themselves. They say what they mean and mean what they say. They see the world through their lens – raw, unvarnished, and unbothered by social niceties. And while it can be abrasive, it can also be incredibly refreshing.

It makes you wonder: What would it feel like to simply exist as we are, without constantly tying ourselves in knots, apologizing, or adjusting ourselves for others?

I have been noticing others as wholly themselves lately – characters in their own movie of experiences – filled with a litany of every insecurity, foible, desire, traumatic belief, like, and dislike rolled into a human form. It made me think about how we are all just reflecting our inner world outwardly – with all of our fears, loves, peccadillos, and subconscious beliefs held tightly by old wounds and stories of the past.

Yet, why do we feel like that is wrong or should be edited, or isn’t enough or okay? What if we just stood fully in our unadorned selves and let ourselves off the hook to be what we think is most appealing to others? Can you let your idiosyncracies shine and your unique way of being in the world be your compass and grounding force?

Because, at the end of the day, others’ opinions of you are none of your business – only your opinion of you matters!

And at the same time, when we encounter others, it is an invitation to see them as they truly are – shaped by their own internal narratives and the full spectrum of experiences, both beautiful and painful, on their journey through life.

Don’t take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others do is a projection of their own reality.

_Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements