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Every since we were in grade school, we’ve been looking outside of ourselves for influences. We’ve based who we were on those that were closest to us. We saw traits in others and we modeled ourselves after those people.

I’m a firm believer in the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Outside influences stem from parents, extended relatives, close peers, teachers even the regular greeter at the local food market has a hand in influencing children. It is what we learned from those individuals that conformed us into who we are as a person today.

As we get older, we realize that people come and people go but our natural habits stay the same. Now we’re in high-school and we’re exposed to a totally different group of people. Again, we naturally gravitate to those who influence us in some form or another; Sometimes it’s a good influence, sometimes it’s a bad influence but nonetheless… that’s right you guessed it, it’s an influence!

The cycle repeats itself even as we get older and become adults. As we mature we realize that, although people come and go, our identity as a person stays the same; The world calls it “Keeping It Real.” In other words, we should remain the same person at home that we are at work and at school.

What Happens When We Remain True To Who We Are?

When we put on a false persona we realize that life often times is difficult. Putting on a facade is the equivalent to living a lie and the result is that others don’t get the opportunity to truly see who we are.

When we remain true to who we are, we naturally filter out people who don’t fit in our lifestyle or mode of living.

Lets say we had a friend, John Doe, who grew up naturally introverted. He was on the rather quiet side, he was taught not to curse, he was an overall good kid; got good grades in school and didn’t get into a lot of trouble. John might have a hard time associating with Tom, who had a fowl mouth and stirred up trouble; hung out with the wrong crowd and never did his homework.

The unfortunate reality is that there are grown adults who put on fake facades just to impress others, who doesn’t share the same beliefs, lifestyle or core values.

Other people have the keen sense of ability to see through us when we are not being true to ourselves. Make a decision today to accept who you are and know that you are good enough for anybody; You don’t have to change who you are for anyone.

There are going to be people who come into your life for either a reason, a season or a lifetime. Some people just weren’t meant to be in your life for a lifetime. Regardless of your outside environment, remain true to yourself; It will pay off in the long run and reward you with great, long-lasting friendships as you go through your life journey.

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