Everyday we wake up with a choice to make. Do we be who we think others want us to be? Or do we go out into the world and be our true selves?
Being yourself can be hard. It can make you feel isolated, strange and uncomfortable to fight the urge to assimilate with the masses and blend in. Fitting in is easy, it’s being different that forces you to overcome adversity and forge a new path. It’s the people that stand up and stand out that make a true difference in this world. They discover a real and genuine sense of self, and carry that with them in all they do.
So don’t be afraid to be an outcast or a weirdo. Be brave. Channel your truest self, and forget the people who try to convince you to do otherwise.
Sometimes it’s nice to hear that other people from all walks of life, success and history have gone through what you’re going through, and made it to the other side. So, for the days you need a little extra motivation to be yourself, here are 25 empowering quotes form those people about being yourself.
1. “So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.” ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2. “I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.” ― Augusten Burroughs, Magical Thinking
3. “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.” — Judy Garland
4. “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” – E.E. Cummings
5. “And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” ― John Steinbeck, East of Eden
6. “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
7. “You will never influence the world by trying to be like it.” — Sean McCabe
8. “Take criticism, smash it into dust. Add color and use it to paint breathtaking images of unicorns frolicking through endless fields of greatness.” — Matthew Gray Gubler
9. “The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday” ― Matty Mullins
10. “No one looks stupid when they’re having fun.” – Amy Poehler
11. “Know what? Bitches get stuff done.” — Tina Fey
12. “Remind yourself that you cannot fail at being yourself.” ― Wayne W. Dyer
13. “The beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” — Coco Chanel
14. “When we follow our hearts, when we choose not to settle. It’s funny, isn’t it? A weight lifts, the sun shines a little brighter, and for a brief moment, we find a little peace.” — Meredith Grey
15. “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” ― J.K. Rowling
16. “You don’t need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!” — John Lennon
17. “Once you figure out who you are and what you love about yourself, I think it all kinda falls into place.” — Jennifer Aniston
18. “If you want to fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” — Toni Morrison
19. “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” —Katherine Hepburn
20. “Don’t let the muggles get you down.” — Ron Weasley
21. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” — Dr. Seuss
22. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde
23. “Don’t you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are.” — Lady Gaga
24. “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” — Dolly Parton
25. “Kites rise high against the wind, not with it.” — Winston Churchill
Now What?
Take these words, your favorite from the list and write it on a post-it. Place that post-it somewhere you will see it first thing in the morning. Take a picture of that post-it and set it as that background of your phone. Repeat whatever it is that you need to hear to go out into the world and be your true, authentic self. Because you know what? That is the best version of you around.
This post was originally published on HerTrack
