Being Authentic: Finding Your Best Self in Dating and Life

Living life as if you were on a date may seem like a strange concept, but it can provide a useful perspective on how to live authentically. In a comment on a blog post about this topic, a reader named Jean raised some thought-provoking questions about the idea of being yourself. She questioned which version of herself to be – her best self or her worst self – and whether it was exhausting to constantly try to be her best self.

While it may seem like a paradox, being your best self is not supposed to be exhausting. Rather, when you are truly being your best self, it should feel invigorating. This is why it’s important to consider what it means to be your true self and how to avoid the exhaustion of faking it.

One example of faking it is the popular dating guide for women called The Rules. This guide can be helpful in some ways, but it emphasizes the idea of being someone else’s version of your best self rather than your own. The constant focus on trying to secure a mate and censoring your own thoughts and feelings can be exhausting and ultimately unsatisfying.

Instead, it’s important to be honest about who you are, what you want, and where you want things to go. This means dressing nicely but not out of character, doing considerate things because you want to, and sharing your aspirations and values with others. Being your best self means being honest about your flaws and working to overcome them rather than pretending they don’t exist.

It’s also important to recognize that fear and laziness can be symptoms of a desire to do well and the fear of failing or not living up to expectations. Being your best self means acknowledging these fears and being honest about them while still moving forward in spite of them.

When it comes to dating or any other aspect of life, it’s important to be yourself and not try to be someone you’re not. The goal is not to please everyone, but to attract the people who are truly compatible with you. This means being honest and putting your true self on display.

Living your life as if you were on a date may seem like a strange concept, but it can provide a useful perspective on how to live authentically and be your best self. By being honest, acknowledging your fears and flaws, and being true to yourself, you can become the best version of yourself and attract the people who are truly compatible with you.