Become who you are.
To me, Friedrich Nietzsche’s recommendation to “become who who you are” seems straightforward once you understand that your personal value is innate, inherent and cannot be taken away or given to you. Once this is clear, all you need to do is to drown out the constant noise and previous programming you’ve accumulated to determine who you already really are.
How do you drown out the so-called noise though? Many people spend their ‘free time’ scrolling endlessly, looking at the lives of others and worse, comparing their own lives to the false and curated narratives shown online. In my spiritual practice, I subscribe to the following:
Don’t complain, compare or criticize
Quitting comparing might be the most crucial at this point. Comparing hurts us and deadens are own motivation without providing any insight to better ourselves. Comparing is a pale sister to inspiration. Inspiration in turn can be motivating and help us to start to peel back the layers and find our true core. Looking up to people or even feeling envious of others can tell you a lot about your true desires. Use these people who deserve admiration as part of your road map to start to remember your truth.
Nietzsche also divides the world into two. There are the people that are diminished and feel guilty to be alive and must look at others to see how to live. They are in the conform contest. Then there are the bold. The ones who dare to affirm their individuality and express their strongest desires with intensity. They say yes to their desires.
I don’t know about you but I want to be in the second camp. You might be asking. ‘how do I know what my desires are’? This is such a common question because we’re so used to doing the best job fitting in instead of paying attention to what feels right for us. For me, creating a daily meditation practice that includes morning pages has been integral to being able to parse out what feels good and energizing instead of draining. As you start to practice daily you also build the self trust you need instead of the many self betrayals we’ve often subjected ourselves to. The small self-betrayals that happen when we say we’re going to do something and then we don’t. When we go along with something that our inner voice is crying out against. It doesn’t have to be a long practice but beginning to tune out the noise and instead tuning in, is the best way I know how to start to become who deep down, you already are.
