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I think people here are thinking too much into this. It just means to not do things that are against your current beliefs. The context is often that you don't b
by jolmg 8y ago
I think people here are thinking too much into this. It just means to not do things that are against your current beliefs. The context is often that you don't because there is social pressure against you. For example, if your boss says something you consider bad and on asking you, you outwardly agree with him for fear of otherwise compromising your job. That's being not true to yourself.
Another example could be family pressuring you to get together with someone you dislike and agreeing to it despite not wanting to.
If your beliefs or wants change, it doesn't mean that whether or not you were true to yourself in the past changes.
- mortivore 8y agoIf you decide to just go along with whatever your family or boss want because you want your family's approval or want to keep your job, then doesn't that mean your true self simply values familial approval and job security more than being right or your dislike of that person?
- jolmg 8y agoI think that's trying to assign more meaning than what the phrase was originally intended to hold. It's an issue of human language being ambiguous. In your use, "true self" becomes a meaningless concept because there can never be a "fake self". In the context of phrases like "stay true to yourself", I think it merely means to not act as a version of yourself that is inconsistent with your own values/beliefs/wants. In other words, to not act like a "fake" version of you.