I hate it when people say things like, “Just be yourself!” That’s such a stupid, clichéd piece of crap. Why should people “be themselves”? What if “being yourself” means that you should succumb to your psychotic sociopathic nature and become a serial killer?

Not to steal the thunder of people who keep repeating that phrase like a mantra, but please think about what you are saying. By telling people to be themselves, you are validating laziness and a lack of self-discipline, and suggesting that they should forgo efforts to improve themselves and instead just settle for “being themselves.”

If you’re one of those people who uses “Just be yourself” as a generic all-purpose advice line, then please: next time someone comes to you with a problem, and you’re thinking of saying, “Oh, just be yourself,” consider whether or not this person actually has traits meriting improvement. I’m sure that if you tried, you’d be able to find some actual good advice languishing deep in the recesses of your brain.

This entry was posted by Cindy on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 12:42 am and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.