Cognitive Dissonance

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment”. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

The struggle is real, and it gets more so each day as we unravel the complexity of the socio-economic web. In this day of age, the irresistible demand of being more than yourself lures us closer to losing that which makes us unique - our individuality.

Pretending to be someone we are not can be extremely tiring, and the fear of falling through that pretense itself can wreak havoc. More importantly, it is miserable to do so day after day.

That precious sense of self formed through years of brewing and cultivation from building Lego planes or giant sandcastles to an apprenticeship at the wood crafting shop or interning at your Uncle Carl’s computer store, now in conflict with the role that you must act into because that lucrative opportunity of the society is just too enticing to pass up. If the professional world doesn’t get you, the influencers from social media will surely make their best pouch to sway you otherwise, being someone you are not.

The brain jams up, tore between layers of cultural expectations and our inner voices. Thoughts, words, and actions are in disaccord, we risk forgetting who we are, and what makes us unique in our personality, thinking, and creativity.

I hope we never have to lose that sense of harmony between what we think, what we say, and what we do. Let this alignment points us toward authenticity, so we may be happy doing what we do.