Authenticity: Who Are You?

To be authentic means to be your true self—to resist the temptation to become someone you are not. Some say we should “fake it until we make it.” But if you pretend to be someone else and then achieve “success,” can you truly say that you made it? Authentic success requires that the real you—the person you honestly are—is the one who succeeds.

But how do we know who we really are? Isn’t identity always changing? Am I the person I am now, or the person I aspire to be? If I change next year, am I still the same person I was before, or someone new? In some ways, I remain the same, yet in other ways I am different. This paradox points us toward a deeper truth: authenticity is not about being fixed and unchanging; it is about being honest with who you are in this moment—and also faithful to the person you are striving to become.

Authenticity includes your future self. To be authentic is not only to live truthfully in the present but also to live in alignment with your aspirations. Imagine someone who is lazy and does not want to work out, yet aspires to have discipline and a strong work ethic. If they begin exercising regularly, we would not say they are being inauthentic. On the contrary, they are living in harmony with their deeper, aspirational self. In this way, authenticity means honoring both who you are now and who you are genuinely working to become.

We are constantly evolving. Our beliefs, values, and perspectives shift as we learn and grow. Authenticity requires that we acknowledge and examine these beliefs honestly, revising them when evidence and experience call for change. This is the essence of critical thinking.

For example, you may believe that “family is essential.” Being authentic means acknowledging that belief when asked about your values. But as you encounter others whose experiences differ—say, someone without parents or siblings who instead builds a chosen family of supportive friends—you may realize that what matters most is not family by blood but relationships built on unconditional love. Your values have changed, not because you abandoned authenticity, but because you engaged with new experiences and refined your beliefs in light of them.

At any given moment, authenticity means manifesting your genuine beliefs, values, and experiences as they are—not pretending to hold values you don’t, or claiming to know what you do not. To live inauthentically is to wear a mask; to live authentically is to express yourself honestly, even as you continue to grow.

Authenticity is not easy. It requires vulnerability, courage, humility, and confidence. That’s why no habit works alone—our pursuit of authenticity depends on cultivating other virtues that sustain and strengthen it.

Reflection:What is one value you hold today that reflects both who you are now and who you want to become?