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Maybe not poor at its core, but poor phrasing nonetheless: "just be yourself!"
What we should say is: stop trying to force yourself to fit in. You are enough as you are. Embrace your quirks, passions, and individuality without feeling the need to conform to what others expect. It's not about "just being yourself" in a vacuum; it's about freeing yourself from the pressure to mold into something you're not.
The beauty of authenticity is in the courage to show up as you are, without apology.
You still need to follow your society's expected behaviors. Like showering or wearing shoes in public venues.
A big problem is people not picking up certain queues and being ostracized then continuing to follow "be yourself." It's a downward spiral.
"Fitting in is one of the greatest barriers to belonging. Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be in order to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are." -Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
This also depends on the society you are living in. Good luck with "being yourself" in north korea, or even any east asian countries.
The retort to that is, “be yourself, unless you’re and arsehole, then be someone else”
You can add "annoying" to that as well. In my case I've had the uncanny ability to regurgitate the most useless trivia about almost any subject that I've read about. It took me longer than I care to admit to realize that no one wants to hear that shit.
All one liner advice is a shortening of a much more complex idea and people rarely pass along the complexity. I think you nailed the goal of the saying, that fitting in shouldn't require losing their individuality.
Sadly some people use the saying to justify being an asshole, because they don't understand that they can be a decent person and still be themselves.
I think "Just be the best version of yourself" is a better phrasing.
Not sure I like the word "just" though. Not as empowering as it could be.
This is pretty good advice, and something I often need to remind myself of. The word "just" weakens what you're saying and is usually superfluous. Delete it.
I really like this answer! Absolutely gorgeous response. Confidence is massively important for being happy with oneself, and that starts by understanding you are a singular original human.