Be Authentic!

                             

What does the word authentic mean to you and what things do you think are the benefits of being authentic? What do you also think are the perils of not being authentic? Like it is usually said in Nigeria during primary school debates, "I'll leave that for my opponents to answer". Haha! The bottom line is, I believe you agree with me that being genuine, original and authentic is far better than being fake, in any way. 

Sometime ago I came across the picture I used for this write up and I was so inspired by this quote by Dr. Diane Lazare – “don’t trade your small ‘REAL’ thing for a big ‘Fake’ thing!!!” 

Does this quote strike you in any way? Personally, it struck me in so many ways and I would like to share them with you. Some may be funny and some may seem harsh but please bear with me and just try to get my point.

So here we go:

* Body part enlargements and reductions too. Well I think the enlargers are the real culprits here (…just my opinion). I'm sure you will agree with me that many people have endangered their lives by these kind of unnecessary dangerous body adjustments just because they did not value or appreciate their body shapes or sizes. 

* Sacrificing patience and dignity of labour for compromise, shortcuts and wayward living. So many people are falling into the hands of various kinds of fraudsters today because of their greed for quick gain. They are not willing to be patient and allow the little job or business that they have to grow and flourish. This makes them desperate, vulnerable and end up in a mess.

* Copying and pasting strengths and abilities into your CV that you do not have. A bank manager once spoke about an interview where a lady wrote in her CV that she was proficient in the use of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. The interviewer then pointed to a computer system across the room and told her to switch on the system and type out a certain document using Microsoft Word. Do you know what the lady said? She said “Oga, wait now….. it’s not like that”. She didn’t know anything about using a computer and so she disappointed herself and lost that job. The funny thing is that we all have strengths and abilities that we don’t usually value. One way to identify your strengths and abilities is by considering the things that are easy for you to do, the things you enjoy doing and the things you do that people usually commend you for or ask you to help them do a lot. You can creatively capture the strengths in each of these things and put them in your CV. For example, if you are someone that likes cooking, you can write that out as passion for planning, organizing and executing. When you are asked why you say so, you simply explain to them that those are the skills you employ when cooking and you know you can also apply them to any job you are given to do.

* Exam malpractice. This is quite clear and straight forward. It is better to fail an exam by writing what you know, then going back to learn it and know the correct thing. Passing an exam by cheating, is being fake about your success and it can cripple you in the future when you are faced with an opportunity to use the knowledge you should have acquired earlier. 

* Selling a fake product...especially at the price of the original. This one can be very painful and annoying. By the way, I hear that there is now fake rice; I mean plastic rice, fake fish and meat and many fake things that you would never have imagined anyone will think of faking. People are really fast losing their sense of value for the lives of others.

* Sacrificing your convictions. One way many people do this is by sacrificing their convictions about a person or issue just because of peer pressure, public opinion and desire to fit in and be accepted and because of the fear of standing out and being different. I am not saying you should hold on to what is wrong just because you believe it or you want to be different; that will be foolish arrogance. I am saying if you must change your convictions, let it be because you have personally understood the truth of why you should do so. Some married couples are losing their value for each other because they are comparing themselves with other couples and trying to be like others instead of discovering and valuing themselves and what they have for each other.

Some people are not original, innovative and creative because they don’t value what they have. Please don't allow your fear of criticism to cripple your flair for creativity.

Now, below are a few things I believe will help you to be more committed and able to be authentic:

1. Be Content. This is one powerful virtue that will help you to be authentic. Control your appetite and be satisfied with what you have.

2. Be Confident. Value what you have. The grass only ‘looks’ greener on the other side. When you go over there and look at your own grass it would look greener than that one too. A great man called Steve Harris once said “it is not what we don’t have that limits us. It is what we have that we don’t know how to use”. When you value what you have and use it well, people will admire what you have and want to have it too.

3. Be Creative. If you don't cherish what you have you will not nourish and develop it the way you are supposed to. One reason the things that other people have may look more attractive may just be because they are nurturing and taking good care of it. If you nurture and take good care of what you have it will be attractive also. You can do great things with what you have if only you are ready to be creative with what you have. Many times our problem is not lack of resources but lack of resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is the ability to know, acquire and utilize resources in the best possible way. 

4. Be Conscientious. This point can be very dicey because a person can be only conscientious to the extent that their conscience is alive or sound. But the point is have a personal value for being honest and doing what is right. Don't desire to deceive others or put up a false front. 

5. Be Courteous. Respect others so much that you wouldn’t like to lie to them. Nothing can be more disrespectful than realizing that someone lied to you or put up a fake front just to get your approval or patronage.

6. Don't compare yourself with others. Instead of comparing your seed with someone else's tree, plant your seed and let it grow. In life we all have different finger prints, different faces, different time tables, different purposes, callings and assignments, different destinations and different ways of seeing things. Instead of comparing ourselves with each other, we need to be complementing each other because we all need each other.

I will like to end this piece by saying this to you:

"Stop living a lie. If your life is based on a lie then your 'f' is missing from the word life. Your 'f' is your foundation. And you know what happens to a building without foundation".

Be original. Be yourself. Discover your style. Be bold. Be you. Don’t be afraid to fail and try again. Be the best that you can be.

#BeAuthentic