“Just Be Yourself”
It’s the advice we’ve all given and received many times in our lives. Whether it pertains to a first date or a job interview, the message that good things happen when we’re ourselves pervades American culture. But what does it mean? If we take this phrase literally, it can feel almost nonsensical. Aren’t we always being ourselves? After all, who else can we be? Of course, we understand that this phrase isn’t meant to be taken literally. There are times when we behave in ways that feel like we are being true to ourselves and times when we feel like we’re not. Along with colleagues, we’ve spent years conducting research on how the advice to “just be yourself” is important for finding meaning in our lives. Most of this work has focused on what we refer to as the “true-self” concept.
The Role of the True Self in the Search for Meaning