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  • Another weekend pic: the Farmington Flats at dusk. 11 days ago February 11, 2012
  • Pity and worry are power-less; compassion is #power-full 12 days ago February 11, 2012
  • Believing in fate is power-less; deliberate creation is #power-full. 12 days ago February 11, 2012
  • Agreed. Nor does going through the motions of character without connection to inner life. 5 hours ago February 23, 2012
  • If you don't appreciate who you are right now, you haven't used your challenges to their fullest value. 7 hours ago February 23, 2012
  • I used to tell my kids, "If you're working too hard to make it fit, something's wrong. You're missing a key. What's the key?" 7 hours ago February 23, 2012

What does Authenticity Mean to You?

Authenticity

What does authenticity mean to you? Your beliefs and attitudes about the concept of authenticity may have a significant impact on the creation and co-creation of your relationships with others. Recently, a Psychology Today blog by Vivian Diller got me to thinking about this subject to even greater depths than I had before. The result? My current thinking goes something like this:

There are three aspects to authenticity.

The first requirement is that my desires have some connection with WHO I am. I wouldn’t get cosmetic surgery for fear of not meeting some consensus standard, or to impress according to some cosmetic standard (though for SOME cosmetic surgery IS an authentic action).  I won’t buy a certain brand because others revere it. For me, the aforementioned choices would mean compliance, and compliance is hardly ever my first choice. I am not judging a different approach, but I am saying that for me, that kind of choice wouldn’t fit my idea of a real me. My approach to authenticity requires that the majority of my desires about how I represent myself . . . → Read More: What does Authenticity Mean to You?

Self-Esteem vs. Self-Value

To fully grok the concept of self-value, it helps to believe that each person has a soul, and that each soul has value beyond what is physical. It’s difficult to make the point for a person’s inherent value, if I choose to believe a human being is just an electrified bag of chemicals walking around comparing his or her value to those around them based on looks, action, relationship, ownership, etc. That out of the way, let’s move on to make what I hope is a helpful distinction between “Self-Esteem” and “Self-Value.” Some folks will tell you that self-esteem is what you think of yourself, and self-value is what you’re born with. From where I stand, that’s partially right. . . . → Read More: Self-Esteem vs. Self-Value